Myrmecobrachid 492

The Myrmecobrachid 492 is a feral gestalt entity emerging from the high-magic fluctuations of the 73 island countries. This life form is a biological chimera, merging the specialized evolutionary traits of four distinct major classes within the Animalia Kingdom: Insecta (Common Weaver Ant), Chondrichthyes (Great Hammerhead Shark), Amphibia (African Bullfrog), and Arachnida (Bolas Spider).

• Original Life Forms Combined:
  • Class Insecta: Common Weaver Ant (Oecophylla smaragdina)
  • Class Chondrichthyes: Great Hammerhead Shark (Sphyrna mokarran)
  • Class Amphibia: African Bullfrog (Pyxicephalus adspersus)
  • Class Arachnida: Bolas Spider (Mastophora)
• Appearance:
  • The creature possesses a squat, powerful amphibian torso covered in a resilient, chitinous exoskeleton of iridescent green and earthy brown.
  • Its head is a wide, hammer-shaped cephalofoil, textured with the rough, sandpaper-like dermal denticles of a shark, but featuring the multifaceted compound eyes of an insect at the distal ends of the “hammer.”
  • It moves on six powerful, jointed insectoid legs capable of clinging to vertical surfaces.
  • From its abdomen, it can secrete a single, high-tensile silken strand tipped with a sticky, pheromone-laden globule, which it wields with two specialized, elongated pedipalps located near its powerful, frog-like maw.
• Size:
  • Length: 4.5 feet from hammerhead to abdomen.
  • Height: 2.8 feet at the shoulder.
  • Width: 5 feet (due to the lateral extension of the cephalofoil).
• Speed:
  • Land: 40 feet per movement action.
  • Climb: 30 feet (capable of traversing ceilings).
  • Swim: 25 feet.
• Stat Modifiers (Mind’s Eye Quantifiable):
  • Strength: +3 (Powerful leaping and crushing bite).
  • Dexterity: +4 (Precise silk-hurling and multi-legged stability).
  • Constitution: +2 (Resilient exoskeleton and estivation capabilities).
  • Intelligence: -3 (Feral instinct driven).
  • Wisdom/Perception: +5 (Electromagnetic sensing and 360-degree compound vision).
• Skills:
  • Electrosensory Tracking: Due to the hammerhead anatomy, it can detect the “magic flow” or bio-electrical signatures of hidden avatars through solid walls or underwater.
  • Pheromone Mimicry: The silk globule emits scents that mimic the “Admiration” or “Desire” of its prey, luring sentient beings toward its hiding spot.
  • Catapult Leap: Can jump up to 30 feet horizontally or 15 feet vertically from a stationary position.
• Behavior:
  • The Myrmecobrachid 492 is an ambush predator that utilizes verticality. It often clings to the undersides of steam-pipe networks in industrial districts or the canopy of jungle ruins.
  • It is a solitary hunter but displays “swarm intelligence” when threatened, vibrating its exoskeleton to call other nearby 492s through subsonic frequencies.
  • It is highly territorial regarding its “silk-line,” treating the area around its anchored web-pendulum as a deathly zone for intruders.
• Diet:
  • Carnivorous. It prefers the nutrient-rich crystals left behind by perished possessed avatars, though it will consume mundane meat, insects, and smaller monsters.
• Emotions:
  • Primary drivers are Hunger and Vigilance.
  • It displays a rudimentary form of “Greed” toward shiny objects or magical conduits, often collecting them in its lair to act as lures.
  • When injured, it exhibits an intense, vibrating “Rage” that increases its attack speed but lowers its AC to the “Unsafe” tier.
• Environment Where Found:
  • Mostly found in the Unsafe or Deathly areas of the 73 island countries.
  • Specific locales include the dark cave systems beneath megacities, the rusted mechanical shafts of abandoned steam factories, and the humid, high-altitude jungles where airships frequently pass.
• Tags: Feral, Monstrosity, Hybrid, Ambush, Climber, Chitinous, Electrosensitive, Tier 1, Predator, Amphibious, Arachnoid, Cephalofoil, Chitin, Compound-Vision, Electrosensory, Glacial-Stalker, Multiped, Pheromonal, Venomous

Life Cycle and Ecology of the Myrmecobrachid 492

The biological progression of the Myrmecobrachid 492 is a complex manifestation of the high-magic environment of Saṃsāra, blending the rapid maturation of insects with the long-lived resilience of chondrichthyes.

• Larval Phase (The Spindle):
  • Emerging from translucent, leathery egg-cases attached to the underside of steam pipes or jungle canopies, the young are born as “Spindles.”
  • In this stage, they lack the heavy hammerhead cephalofoil, possessing instead a singular, sharp proboscis used to drain the magical condensation from steam valves or the sap of mana-rich flora.
  • This phase lasts approximately three months, during which the creature is at its most vulnerable (Deathly area AC applies).
• Pupal Estivation:
  • Upon reaching sufficient mass, the Spindle spins a metallic-hued silk cocoon.
  • Within this shell, the creature undergoes a violent metamorphic shift where the skeletal structure of the shark and the muscled torso of the bullfrog begin to solidify.
  • If disturbed during this month-long sleep, the cocoon can emit a high-pitched subsonic frequency that causes minor disorientation to nearby sentient beings.
• Adulthood and Longevity:
  • The adult Myrmecobrachid 492 can live for up to forty years.
  • As they age, their chitinous plates thicken, and the “magic flow” within their internal circuits becomes more pronounced, occasionally causing small sparks to jump between their jointed legs.

Mating and Propagation

• The Harmonic Pulse:
  • Mating occurs during the “ebb and flow” of magical weather patterns.
  • Males use their hammerhead cephalofoils to emit rhythmic electromagnetic pulses.
  • A female responds by vibrating her pedipalps against the brass or stone of her lair, creating a resonant “clanging” sound that can be heard throughout the industrial districts.
• The Silk Exchange:
  • Instead of a traditional courtship, the male must offer a “bolas” of rare or shiny materials—often stolen magic crystals or discarded silver wire—wrapped in his finest silk.
  • If the female accepts the gift, they share a brief period of communal hunting before she deposits her egg-cases in a location with high mechanical power transmission, ensuring the young have access to warmth and vibration.

Combat Tactics and Actions

The Myrmecobrachid 492 is a master of the “Unsafe” environment, using the terrain to negate its own lack of speed compared to aerial avatars.

• Ambush Geometry:
  • It prefers to hang from a ceiling by a single silk thread, remaining perfectly still.
  • Using its Electrosensory Tracking, it waits until an avatar is directly beneath it before dropping with its Catapult Leap.
• The Bolas Strike (Action):
  • The creature swings a weighted silk globule at a target within 15 feet.
  • On a successful hit, the target is Grappled and Restrained. The sticky pheromones on the globule also trigger a false “Admiration” stat in the victim’s Mind’s Eye, causing a 1-round delay in their reaction as they hesitate to strike back.
• Cephalofoil Ram (Action):
  • The 492 charges forward, using its hammer-shaped head as a biological battering ram.
  • This attack deals significant bludgeoning damage and has a high probability of knocking the target Prone.
• Subsonic Distress (Reaction):
  • When the creature’s HP is reduced by half, it lets out a vibration through its legs.
  • All nearby Myrmecobrachids within 100 feet are alerted to the location and will move toward the source of the vibration over the next 1d4 minutes.

Other Interesting Information

• The Crystal Hunger:
  • This species is one of the few feral life forms that can detect the “soul sparks” of a character before they fully possess an avatar.
  • They are known to cluster around “reincarnation zones” where new souls frequently arrive, hoping to snatch the crystals left behind if the possession fails or the new avatar is quickly dispatched.
• Industrial Symbiosis:
  • In some megacities, factory owners intentionally allow 492s to nest in the rafters.
  • The creatures act as a natural security system against thieves, and their presence helps identify “magic circuit” leaks, as they will congregate near areas of high magical discharge to bask in the energy.
• The Trophy Trade:
  • The cephalofoil of a Myrmecobrachid 492 is highly prized in the sellers’ market.
  • When properly cured and integrated into a head-slot item, it can grant the wearer a limited version of the creature’s electrosensory abilities, though this requires a Tier 2 character to successfully attune without the “Divine Pain” penalty.

A party of avatars navigating the complex layers of Saṃsāra might find themselves intentionally tracking or unexpectedly interrupted by a Myrmecobrachid 492 for several reasons, ranging from economic necessity to the inherent dangers of the industrial landscape.

• Extraction of Rare Crafting Components:
  • The most common reason for a search is the “sellers’ market” value of the creature’s cephalofoil. A Tier 1 or Tier 2 blacksmith can use the hammer-shaped head to craft head-slot gear that mimics the creature’s electrosensory abilities.
  • The high-tensile silk and the pheromone globule are sought after by alchemists to create “Admiration” oils or binding agents for high-magic steam gaskets.
• Recovery of Stolen Conduits and Mana Crystals:
  • Because the Myrmecobrachid 492 has a behavioral instinct for “Greed,” they often hoard shiny objects and magical conduits in their nests.
  • A party might be hired to venture into a deathly area of a megacity’s cave system to recover a stolen family heirloom or a vital magic circuit component that a 492 snatched from a passing airship or merchant stall.
• Infrastructure Maintenance in Industrial Districts:
  • In the 73 island countries, steam power is the lifeblood of society. When a Myrmecobrachid 492 nests on a primary steam-pipe network, its silk can clog relief valves and its weight can strain mechanical power transmission shafts.
  • Adventurers are often contracted as “pest control” to clear these creatures from factory rafters or underground maintenance tunnels where the environment is considered too unsafe for mundane workers.
• Investigation of Missing Avatars:
  • Due to the creature’s Pheromone Mimicry, inexperienced Tier 1 avatars or non-possessed citizens are often lured into dark alleys or jungle ruins.
  • A party might encounter a 492 while investigating a string of disappearances, discovering that the “admirable hero” people saw walking into the shadows was actually a pheromonal lure manipulated by the creature’s pedipalps.
• Harvesting of Reincarnation Crystals:
  • Since these creatures congregate near areas where magic “ebbs and flows” and souls arrive from the multiverse, a party of “crystal hunters” might search for 492 lairs.
  • These lairs are often littered with the soul crystals of perished avatars that the creature has collected but cannot consume, providing a high-risk, high-reward objective for those looking to advance their own tiers.
• Territorial Obstruction During Racing Events:
  • High-speed racing events using zeppelins or griffons often pass through labyrinths or narrow canyons where Myrmecobrachid 492s reside.
  • A party of adventurers might be tasked with “clearing the track” before a race to ensure that participants aren’t snatched out of the air by the creature’s Bolas Strike.
• Scientific and Mind’s Eye Study:
  • Scholars from metropolitan skyscrapers may hire adventurers to capture a live “Spindle” or an adult specimen.
  • The goal is usually to use the Mind’s Eye to study the unique combination of insectoid compound vision and shark-based electrosensing, potentially leading to the development of new magical identification tools.

In the world of Saṃsāra, the anatomy of a Myrmecobrachid 492 is a prized collection of biological magic circuits and specialized predatory organs. Because the creature is a feral life form without a previous-life memory, it does not vaporize into sparks upon death, allowing adventurers to physically harvest its remains for the “sellers’ market.”

Harvestable Materials and Their Applications

• Cephalofoil Cartilage (Hammerhead Plate):
  • Usage: The wide, lateral structure of the head contains dense clusters of electrosensory ampullae. When harvested and preserved in alchemical salts, this cartilage serves as a core component for crafting Tier 2 “Mind’s Eye” enhancement goggles.
  • Effect: Items built from this material allow an avatar to perceive the “magic flow” of hidden conduits or invisible creatures through solid objects like brass pipes or stone walls.
• Compound Cornea Lenses:
  • Usage: The multifaceted eyes located at the edges of the hammerhead can be carefully removed and polished on a mechanical power lathe.
  • Effect: These lenses are used in the construction of high-altitude zeppelin navigation systems or 360-degree surveillance mirrors for megacity skyscrapers, providing a panoramic field of vision that negates blind spots.
• Pheromone Reservoir (The Lure Sac):
  • Usage: Located near the pedipalps, this small organ stores the concentrated chemical compounds used for the creature’s “Admiration” mimicry.
  • Effect: Alchemists refine this into “Essence of the Protagonist,” a potent oil that can be applied to common gear to temporarily grant the Aura of the Protagonist passive magic without needing a permanent enchantment.
• High-Tensile Silk Spinnerets:
  • Usage: The internal organs responsible for producing the bolas-line are highly sought after by engineers specializing in mechanical power transmission.
  • Effect: The silk can be woven into reinforced drive belts for steam engines or used as a non-conductive “magic circuit” insulator that is virtually unbreakable under standard rotational tension.
• Chitinous Exoskeleton Plates:
  • Usage: The iridescent green plates from the amphibian-insectoid torso are exceptionally lightweight and magically resonant.
  • Effect: These plates are used to create Tier 1 or Tier 2 “Scout Armor.” Because the material is naturally silent and blends with the “magic weather” patterns of jungles and industrial shadows, it provides a bonus to stealth when moving through unsafe areas.
• Bolas Globule (Sticky Gland):
  • Usage: The un-fired adhesive from the abdomen remains viable for several days if kept in a pressurized brass container.
  • Effect: It is used as a high-grade industrial adhesive for sealing steam gaskets or as a component in “Enthralling Traps” used by city guards to restrain “rule breakers” without causing lethal damage.
• Serrated Dermal Denticles (Shark-Skin):
  • Usage: The rough skin covering the head and joints is naturally abrasive.
  • Effect: It is used as a biological “sandpaper” for the final polishing of crystalline conduits or as a grip-enhancement wrap for weapon hilts, ensuring a tool or sword remains attuned and held even in humid, subterranean environments.
• Amphibian Vocal Sacs:
  • Usage: The powerful throat structures used for subsonic distress signals can be harvested intact.
  • Effect: “Rule breakers” who focus on vocal magic often seek these as a primary ingredient for elixirs that “train” their own vocal cords to act as a more powerful conduit for ritual-length chants.
• Calcified Pedipalp Hooks:
  • Usage: The sharp, grasping hooks at the end of the manipulative limbs.
  • Effect: These are often fashioned into “Climber’s Picks” or specialized thieves’ tools. Because they were part of a sentient-hunting predator, they have a natural affinity for finding the “weak points” or slots in mechanical locks and steam-gate latches.

Many-Legged Hunger and False-Face of Ceiling

In the cycle before the gears were birthed from the red mountain, when the steam was yet a ghost wandering the trackless wastes, there existed a village of avatars upon an island that has since been swallowed by the silver tides. This place was known as the Hollow of Whispers, for the magic flow there was thick, like honey poured into a brass bowl, and the Mind’s Eye of the people was clouded by the heavy vapors of the deep earth.

Among these people was a smith of great renown named Kaelen, whose soul held the memories of a man who once built towers that touched the stars. Kaelen sought to create a conduit of such purity that it would never require a ritual chant, a device that would allow the silent thought to move the heavy shafts of the world. To do this, he needed the light-vapor from the highest peaks, where the airships of the ancients once anchored.

Kaelen journeyed into the dark shafts of the mountain, where the mechanical power transmission of the old gods still turned in the silence of the stone. He did not know that a Myrmecobrachid 492—known in the old tongue as the Hammer-Shadow that Swings the Silk—had made its lair among the iron rafters. This creature was not a ghost, nor a spirit, but a beast of the world’s first waking, its hammer-head sensing the very beat of Kaelen’s heart through the vibrations of his copper boots.

As Kaelen climbed, he saw above him the face of his own daughter, who had perished in a world far across the multiverse. She stood upon a ledge of crystal, her eyes full of the “Admiration” that a child holds for a father. Kaelen’s Mind’s Eye showed him the stats of a “Blessed Kin,” and he wept with a joy that blinded his reason. He reached out his hand, forgetting the “buyer beware” laws of the wild places.

But the face was a lie, a pheromonal mask woven by the pedipalps of the 492. As Kaelen stepped onto the ledge, the girl vanished into a globule of sticky silk. The beast dropped from the ceiling, its six legs striking the brass pipes with a sound like a funeral bell. Kaelen was grappled, his AC cut to the deathly tier by the creature’s ambush. The Bolas-line wrapped around his throat, a high-tensile cord that no silver wire could cut.

The smith, however, had practiced the way of the “rule breaker.” Though his hands were bound, he used his vocal cords as a conduit, letting out a normal-casting shout of “Iron-Binding.” The steam from a nearby valve hissed forth, scalded by the magic flow, and struck the creature’s compound eyes. The Myrmecobrachid let out a subsonic distress vibration that shook the very foundations of the mountain.

Kaelen fell, tumbling through the darkness until he landed in a pool of elemental fire and water—the cradle of steam. There, he saw the creature’s true form: the hammer-head of the shark, the chitin of the ant, and the leaping legs of the frog. It was a gestalt of the kingdom Animalia, a feral king of the unsafe zones.

For three days, the man and the beast fought within the labyrinth of gears. Kaelen used the “Serrated Dermal Denticles” of a dead ancestor-beast to sharpen his broken blade, while the 492 used the “Electrosensory Tracking” to hunt him through the steam-clouds. Every time Kaelen tried to rest, he remembered that an avatar gains nothing from a short rest, and he pushed his body until his HP was a mere spark in the dark.

Finally, at the heart of the mountain’s mechanical core, Kaelen trapped the beast between two massive rotating shafts. The creature’s own silk was its undoing; as it swung its bolas, the line caught in the gears, pulling the Myrmecobrachid into the crushing power of the steam-drive. The beast died not with a cloud of sparks, but with a physical shattering of its iridescent plates.

Kaelen emerged from the mountain, carrying the pheromone reservoir of the beast. He used it to craft the first pendants of admiration, so that others might see the “False-Face” before it took their lives. But he never again climbed the mountains without his Mind’s Eye wide and his conduits ready, for he knew that in the world of Saṃsāra, even the most beautiful face can be a lure for a many-legged hunger.

The Moral of the Story: Trust not the eye that sees what the heart desires, for in the shadow of the great gears, the most admirable light is often the glow of the predator’s silk, and the Mind’s Eye is only as sharp as the wisdom that guides it.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

---

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Unique Name: The Cephalofoil Horror

• Description: A multi-classed biological anomaly. It clings to the shadows of industrial rafters, its hammer-shaped head twitching as it senses the electrical impulses of the investigators’ hearts.
• Characteristics:
  • STR: 80
  • CON: 70
  • SIZ: 65
  • DEX: 85
  • INT: 40
  • POW: 50
  • HP: 27
  • Build: 2
  • Move: 8 / 10 Climbing
• Attacks per Round: 2 (Bolas Strike or Bite/Ram)
  • Bolas Strike: 65% (32/13), damage 1D6 + Build. On a hit, the target is Entangled (STR check to break free).
  • Cephalofoil Ram: 50% (25/10), damage 1D10 + DB + Knockback.
• Armor: 4-point chitinous plates.
• Skills: Stealth 80%, Climb 90%, Electrosense (Sense heartbeats through walls) 75%.
• Sanity Loss: 1/1D8 Sanity points to encounter this hybrid monstrosity.
• Syntax: Mythos Monster; Armor 4; Entangle (Bolas); Electrosense.

---

Blades in the Dark

Unique Name: Spark-Gutter Lurker

• Description: A feral horror often found in the Silkshore district or the deathly underbelly of the Imperial City. It feeds on electroplasmic discharge and the unwary.
• Tier: II (Large, chitinous, and terrifying).
• Threat Level: Dangerous (2 Stress for a Desperate position).
• Attributes:
  • Quality: Tier II.
  • Scale: Small Group (Equivalent to 3-6 people in mass/threat).
• Abilities:
  • Ambush Geometry: The Lurker always has Potency when attacking from a ceiling or dark corner.
  • Pheromonal Lure: Anyone attempting to Study or Hunt the Lurker must resist a social consequence (1 Stress) or be lulled into a false sense of security, losing their next action.
  • Bolas Snatch: The creature can pull a target into a Desperate position by snaring them with its silk line.
• Clock: Escape the Lurker (4-segment clock).
• Syntax: Feral Threat; Tier II; Potency (Ambush); Pheromonal Lure (Social Resistance).

---

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Unique Name: Myrmecobrachid Ambush-Predator

• Description: Large monstrosity, unaligned. A nightmare of evolution that combines the predatory instincts of a shark with the multi-limbed efficiency of an insect.
• Armor Class: 16 (Natural Armor).
• Hit Points: 68 (8d10 + 24).
• Speed: 40 ft., climb 30 ft., swim 25 ft.
• Stats: STR 17 (+3), DEX 18 (+4), CON 16 (+3), INT 4 (-3), WIS 14 (+2), CHA 8 (-1).
• Senses: Blindsight 60 ft. (Electrosensory), Passive Perception 12.
• Abilities:
  • Spider Climb: The creature can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
  • Standing Leap: Its long jump is up to 30 feet and its high jump is up to 15 feet, with or without a running start.
• Actions:
  • Multiattack: The creature makes two attacks: one with its Bolas Strike and one with its Cephalofoil Ram.
  • Bolas Strike: Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 15/30 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage and the target is Grappled (escape DC 14). Until this grapple ends, the target is Restrained.
  • Cephalofoil Ram: Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be knocked Prone.
• Syntax: Large monstrosity; AC 16; Multiattack; Blindsight 60ft.

---

Knave (2nd Edition)

Unique Name: Chimera-Bug

• Description: A heavy, green-shelled beast that drips sticky silk from its mouth. It is the bane of tomb-robbers and factory-delvers.
• Level: 4 (HD 4, HP 18).
• Armor: 14 (Chitinous Plates).
• Movement: Fast (Land/Climbing).
• Attacks: 2 (Bolas +5 or Head-Butt +4).
• Abilities:
  • Bolas: Target must make a DEX Save or be unable to move until they spend an action cutting the silk (requires a sharp tool).
  • Hammer-Head: A successful hit forces a STR Save or the victim is knocked back 10 feet and falls.
  • Sense Life: Cannot be surprised by anything with a pulse within 60 feet.
• Morale: 9 (Fights fiercely until wounded).
• Treasure: 1d6 Gear Slots of valuable chitin or silk glands.
• Syntax: HD 4; AC 14; 2 Attacks; DEX Save (Bolas); Blindsight.

---

Fate Core

Unique Name: The Hammer-Headed Silk-Slinger

• Description: A multi-classed nightmare of chitin and muscle. It senses the electrical pulse of your thoughts before you even see its compound eyes glowing in the rafters.
• Aspects:
  • High Concept: Feral Amphibian-Shark-Ant Hybrid
  • Trouble: Single-Minded Hunger for Mana Crystals
  • Location Aspect: Master of the Vertical Ambush
  • Sensory Aspect: Electromagnetic Tracking Cephalofoil
• Skills:
  • Great (+4): Stealth, Athletics
  • Good (+3): Physique, Notice
  • Fair (+2): Fight, Provoke
  • Average (+1): Will
• Stunts:
  • Bolas Snatch: Use Athletics to Create an Advantage by snaring a target in silk from two zones away. If successful, the target is Restrained with two free invokes.
  • Cephalofoil Ram: When the creature succeeds on a Fight attack with style, it can sacrifice the boost to knock the target into an adjacent zone and apply the Dazed consequence.
• Stress: Physical [ ][ ][ ], Mental [ ][ ]
• Syntax: NPC; Skills (Athletics +4); Stunt (Bolas Snatch); Stress 3/2.

---

Numenera & Cypher System

Unique Name: Myrmeco-Hammerhead

• Description: A level 4 creature that clings to the underside of ancient ruins. Its wide head scans for the energy signatures of explorers.
• Level: 4 (Target Number 12)
• Health: 12
• Damage Inflicted: 4 points
• Movement: Short (Land), Short (Climbing)
• Armor: 2 (Chitinous Plates)
• Modifications: Stealth and Climbing as Level 6; Perception and Initiative as Level 5.
• Combat:
  • The Myrmeco-Hammerhead begins combat by dropping from a ceiling. This initial attack is an asset that reduces the difficulty of the attack by one step.
  • Bolas Strike: The creature fires a sticky globule. If the target fails a Speed defense roll, they are stuck to a surface and cannot move until they succeed at a Might-based task to break free.
  • Pheromonal Lure: The creature emits a scent that mimics a target’s “Admiration.” Any character attempting to attack the creature must first succeed on an Intellect defense roll or lose their action in a moment of hesitation.
• Syntax: Creature (Level 4); Stealth/Climbing (Level 6); Armor 2; Pheromonal Lure (Intellect Defense).

---

Pathfinder (2nd Edition)

Unique Name: Myrmecobrachid 492

• Description: Creature 4, N, Large, Animal, Monstrosity. A terrifying fusion of deep-sea and subterranean predators.
• Perception: +12; Blindsight (Electrosensory) 60 ft.
• Skills: Acrobatics +11, Athletics +13, Stealth +12 (+14 in rocky or industrial terrain), Climbing +13.
• Str +5, Dex +4, Con +3, Int -4, Wis +2, Cha -2.
• AC: 21; Fort +11, Ref +12, Will +8.
• HP: 65.
• Speed: 30 feet, climb 30 feet, swim 20 feet.
• Melee [one-action]: Jaws +13, Damage 2d8+5 piercing.
• Melee [one-action]: Cephalofoil Ram +13 (Forceful, Shove), Damage 2d6+5 bludgeoning.
• Ranged [one-action]: Bolas Silk +12 (Range Increment 20 ft.), Damage 1d6+4 bludgeoning plus Grab.
• Abilities:
  • Pheromonal Distraction: (Aura, Emotion, Mental, Olfactory) 20 feet. Creatures entering the aura must succeed at a DC 19 Will save or be Fascinated by the creature for 1 round.
  • Catapult Leap [two-actions]: The creature jumps up to 30 feet. This movement does not provoke reactions. If it ends this movement adjacent to a creature, it can make a Cephalofoil Ram attack against that creature.
• Syntax: Creature 4; N Large; AC 21; HP 65; Pheromonal Distraction (DC 19).

---

Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)

Unique Name: Chitinous Hammer-Leaper

• Description: A feral monstrosity that utilizes its hammerhead to sense prey through solid brass and stone.
• Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d8, Strength d10, Vigor d8.
• Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d8, Notice d10+2, Stealth d10.
• Pace: 8; Parry: 6; Toughness: 9 (3).
• Edges: Wall Walker, Brute.
• Special Abilities:
  • Armor +3: Thick chitinous plates.
  • Bolas (Action): The creature can throw a silk globule (Range 3/6/12). A hit means the target is Entangled. A raise means they are Bound.
  • Cephalofoil Ram: If the creature moves at least 2″ before attacking with its head, it adds +2 to the damage roll and the target is knocked Prone if they fail a Strength roll (-2).
  • Electrosensory: Ignores penalties for Illumination, Invisibility, or Obscurement within 10″.
  • Bite: Str+d6.
• Syntax: Wild Card (Optional) or Resilient Extra; Toughness 9 (3); Electrosensory 10″; Bolas (Entangled/Bound).

---

Shadowrun (6th World Edition)

Unique Name: Chimeric Sewer-Lurker

• Description: An awakened hybrid that haunts the arcology basements and sprawl sewers. It is often mistaken for a bug spirit, but it is a purely biological, albeit magical, anomaly.
• Attributes:
  • BOD: 6
  • AGI: 7
  • REA: 5
  • STR: 6
  • WIL: 3
  • LOG: 1
  • INT: 5
  • CHA: 2
  • EDG: 2
  • ESS: 6
  • MAG: 4
• Initiative: 10 + 1D6
• Defense Rating: 9
• Condition Monitor: 11
• Armor: 3 (Chitinous Plates)
• Skills: Athletics 6, Close Combat 5, Perception (Electrosense) 7, Stealth 6.
• Powers:
  • Electrosense: The creature ignores penalties for invisibility or darkness within 20 meters. It can “see” through standard walls by tracking the bio-electrical impulses of a target’s nervous system.
  • Bolas Snare: (Ranged Attack, Agility + Athletics). On a hit, the target is Grappled. If the target fails a Strength + Stamina (3) test, they are Restrained.
  • Wall Walking: The creature moves at full speed on vertical surfaces or ceilings.
• Syntax: Awakened Critter; Armor 3; Electrosense 20m; Bolas Snare (Restrained).

---

Starfinder (2nd Edition Playtest/Core)

Unique Name: Cephalofoil Ambush-Predator

• Description: Level 4, N, Large, Animal, Mutation. A nightmare found in the maintenance shafts of space stations or the jungles of Castrovel.
• Perception: +11; Blindsight (Electrosensory) 60 ft.
• AC: 20; Fort: +11, Ref: +11, Will: +7.
• HP: 60.
• Speed: 35 ft., climb 30 ft.
• Melee [one-action]: Jaws +13, Damage 2d8+6 P.
• Melee [one-action]: Cephalofoil Ram +13 (Forceful, Shove), Damage 2d6+6 B.
• Ranged [one-action]: Silk Bolas +12 (Range Increment 20 ft.), Damage 1d6+4 B plus Grab.
• Abilities:
  • Pheromonal Lure (Aura): 15 feet. Creatures must succeed at a DC 18 Will save or be Fascinated for 1 round.
  • Leaping Ambush [two-actions]: The creature jumps up to 30 feet without provoking reactions. If it lands adjacent to a foe, it makes a Cephalofoil Ram attack with a +1 circumstance bonus to the damage.
• Syntax: Level 4 Creature; Large Mutation; AC 20; HP 60; Pheromonal Lure (DC 18).

---

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Unique Name: Hammer-Headed Chimera

• Description: A biological terror encountered on high-gravity worlds or within the derelict holds of abandoned starships.
• Characteristics:
  • STR: 12 (+2)
  • DEX: 13 (+2)
  • END: 10 (+1)
  • INT: 1 (-2)
  • INS: 11 (+1)
  • PAK: 4 (-1)
• Armor: 6 (Heavy Chitin)
• Skills: Athletics (Dexterity) 2, Melee (Unarmed) 2, Recon 3, Stealth 3.
• Attacks:
  • Bolas Silk: Range 10m. On a hit, the target must make a DEX check (10+) or be immobilized until they spend a Significant Action to free themselves.
  • Cephalofoil Ram: 2D6+2 damage.
  • Bite: 2D6 damage.
• Special: Electrosense: The creature can detect any living being with a nervous system within 30 meters, regardless of cover or atmosphere. It gains a DM+2 to all Recon and Stealth checks.
• Syntax: Animal (Hunter/Chaser); Armor 6; 2D6 Ram; Electrosense (30m).

---

Warhammer (Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition)

Unique Name: The Chitinous Beast of the Under-City

• Description: A feral monstrosity that haunts the sewers of Altdorf or the caves of the Grey Mountains. It is a nightmare of biological fusion.
• Characteristics:
  • M: 5
  • WS: 45
  • BS: 40
  • S: 55
  • T: 50
  • I: 55
  • Agi: 45
  • Dex: 25
  • Int: 15
  • WP: 35
  • Fel: 05
• Wounds: 22
• Traits:
  • Armour 3 (Chitinous Plates)
  • Bite +9
  • Wallcrest (Hammerhead): The creature has the Sixth Sense Talent and treats all Perception tests based on location as Easy (+40).
  • Bolas Silk (Range 10): The creature has the Entangle Trait.
  • Wallcrawler: Can move on any surface at normal Move.
  • Pheromone Lure: All targets within 4 yards must make a Challenging (+0) Willpower Test or gain the Distracted Condition.
• Syntax: Elite Monster; Armour 3; Entangle (Silk); Distracted (Pheromones).