GearAscendancy.com

Molochirex 333

—

by

Dale
in

ORIGINAL LIFE FORMS:

  • Class Aves: Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex)
  • Class Gastropoda: Cone Snail (genus Conus)
  • Class Reptilia: Thorny Devil (Moloch horridus)
  • Class Mammalia: Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis)

APPEARANCE: The Molochirex is an unnerving creature that appears as a grotesque fusion of bird, reptile, and mammal. It stands bipedally on two digitigrade legs, much like a large bird, but its body is stout and its posture low to the ground. Instead of feathers, its entire body is covered in a dense layer of thorny, keratinous scales of ochre, tan, and brown, identical to those of a Thorny Devil. These spines are particularly large and menacing on its back and shoulders, and a prominent knob of spiky flesh sits on its neck, serving as a false head to confuse attackers.

Its true head is nightmarish. It possesses the massive, clog-shaped beak of a shoebill, a formidable weapon capable of delivering a single, devastating crushing bite. Atop this head are two enormous, leathery, and independently rotating ears like those of an Aye-aye, which constantly swivel to triangulate sound. Its eyes are large, round, and golden, staring forward with an unnerving, unblinking intensity. Its arms are long and spindly, ending in slender, clawed hands. The middle finger on each hand is exceptionally long, thin, and skeletal in appearance, twitching and tapping constantly against surfaces. Hidden within its beak, where a tongue would normally be, is a fleshy, tube-like proboscis, the siphon from which it fires its venomous radula.

SIZE: An adult Molochirex stands approximately four feet tall, though its low posture often makes it appear shorter. Due to a partially avian bone structure, it is deceptively light for its size, weighing only 60 to 80 pounds.

SPEED: This creature is not built for speed. Its movement is slow, deliberate, and almost unnervingly calm. It walks with a steady, measured gait and does not run or chase prey. Its entire hunting strategy is based on patience, stealth by stillness, and a single, decisive strike.

STAT MODIFIERS: Strength: Moderate Stamina/Constitution: Low Dexterity: Moderate Perception: Very High (hearing and touch/vibration) Intelligence: Moderate (methodical and patient) Willpower: High Charisma/Social: Very Low

SKILLS: Stealth: By remaining perfectly motionless, its thorny camouflage makes it exceptionally difficult to spot in its natural habitat. Percussive Sense: The creature constantly taps its long, skeletal finger against the ground, rocks, trees, and even potential prey. This high-frequency tapping allows it to sense minute vibrations, identifying hollow spaces, structural weaknesses, or the movement of grubs beneath bark. Ranged Attack (Venom Harpoon): Its primary offensive skill, capable of firing its venomous tooth with great accuracy. Powerful Bite: Its massive beak can crush armor and bone with a single, powerful bite.

BEHAVIOR: The Molochirex is a patient and methodical solitary hunter. Its behavior is unnerving to observe, as it can remain perfectly still for hours on end, resembling a thorny desert shrub or a strange rock formation. During this time, its large ears constantly rotate, scanning for any sound, while its long finger taps out a silent, steady rhythm on the ground. It uses this tapping to build a complex vibrational map of its surroundings. When it detects prey, either by sound or by the vibrations their footsteps make, it will track them with slow, deliberate movements, always seeking the perfect ambush position.

Once a target is in range, it will either employ its Venom Harpoon for large or dangerous prey, or lunge from its hiding place to deliver a single, catastrophic bite to smaller targets. It is not easily startled and does not display typical predator aggression; its actions are economical and precise. Its thorny hide and false head are its primary defenses, along with a thick skull that can absorb significant impact.

DIET: The Molochirex is primarily a carnivore and insectivore. It uses its powerful beak to crush the shells of large, armored insects, turtles, and other small creatures. Its long finger is used to tap on trees and anthills, locating grub colonies which it then extracts. For larger prey, it relies exclusively on its Venom Harpoon. The harpoon itself is a modified radular tooth, which it fires from its proboscis. The tooth is coated in a potent neurotoxin that swiftly paralyzes its victims, allowing the slow-moving Molochirex to dispatch them at its leisure.

EMOTIONS: This creature appears to be almost devoid of emotion. It exhibits no rage, no fear, and no joy. Its entire being is focused on a cold, serene, and patient predatory drive. Its stillness can be misinterpreted as calm, but it is the stillness of a loaded weapon. The only time it shows anything resembling agitation is when its percussive tapping reveals something particularly interesting or unusual, at which point its finger will tap more erratically and its head will cock with unnerving intensity.

ENVIRONMENT WHERE FOUND: The Molochirex is exclusively found in arid, rocky environments where its thorny camouflage is most effective. It thrives in deserts, badlands, sun-baked canyons, and dry, scrubland areas. It makes its lair in shallow caves or under large rock overhangs, often surrounded by the paralyzed but still-living bodies of its recent victims, which it consumes over time. The micro-grooves in its thorny skin allow it to capture morning dew and channel it directly to its mouth, making it incredibly resilient to drought.

TAGS: Feral, Magical Beast, Carnivore, Insectivore, Solitary, Ambusher, Venomous, Desert, Badlands, Patient Hunter, Percussive Sense, Chimera, Abomination, Bipedal, Neurotoxin, Crushing-Beak, Vibration-Sense, Hyper-auditory, Stalker

AGE

The Molochirex 333 possesses a remarkably long lifespan for a feral creature, often living between 40 and 50 years. This longevity is a direct result of its extremely patient, low-energy, and risk-averse lifestyle. Its life cycle is stark and solitary from its first moments. A female lays a clutch of 3 to 5 soft, leathery eggs in a shallow, sun-warmed scrape. She then abandons them. The first hatchling to emerge, known as a “Spike,” is driven by instinct to immediately consume the other unhatched eggs, absorbing their vital essence for its first meal. This act of natal cannibalism ensures only the strongest survives and is the reason the species is always encountered alone.

The Spike stage lasts for about a year. During this time, the creature is small and vulnerable, relying entirely on its thorny camouflage to avoid predation while it subsists on insects and small lizards.

The Juvenile stage, from age one to five, sees the “Tapper” begin to develop its full arsenal. Its beak hardens, its venom becomes more potent, and it begins to practice its unique percussive hunting techniques. It is a nomad during this phase, wandering the arid landscapes and learning to avoid the established territories of adults.

An Adult Molochirex, from age five onward, has claimed a wide territory, usually by finding a vacant one rather than through direct conflict. It becomes a master of its domain, knowing every rock, every cave, and every game trail. It spends the majority of its long life in this stage, hunting with methodical patience.

An Elder, or “Ancient Tapper,” is a creature over 40 years of age. It moves even less, sometimes remaining stationary for weeks at a time, allowing desert vines and moss to grow on its thorny back, further enhancing its camouflage. Its venom becomes extraordinarily concentrated during this stage, though its ability to produce new harpoons slows considerably.

TACTICS

The Molochirex is a creature of supreme patience and tactical analysis. Its entire method of conflict, whether for hunting or defense, is built around a calm, calculated approach that is unnerving to witness.

Its primary tactic is the “Patient Wait.” It will select a location with a wide field of view or near a source of water and assume its motionless state, becoming indistinguishable from the thorny desert flora. Its huge ears will track every sound, while its long, skeletal finger taps a constant, silent rhythm against the ground, building a vibrational map of the area. It can remain this way for days, waiting for the perfect opportunity.

Before engaging a target, it employs a unique form of “Percussive Analysis.” If the target is at a distance, the Molochirex will tap its finger on the ground, focusing its intent on the target. This sends a subtle, magically-attuned vibration through the earth towards the creature. By interpreting the returning echo, it can identify weaknesses. Against an armored avatar, for instance, it can detect the specific location of a loose rivet, a cracked plate, or a thinner section of armor. This analysis makes its subsequent strike uncannily accurate.

The strike itself is always decisive. For smaller or unarmored prey, it will lunge from its stillness with surprising speed, using its massive Crushing Beak to end the fight in a single, overwhelming bite. For larger or more dangerous targets, it will fire its Venom-Tipped Radula, aiming precisely for the weak point it has already identified. After firing, it does not close for a melee. It simply waits, perfectly calm, for the potent neurotoxin to paralyze its victim, at which point it will walk over to claim its meal.

In defense, the Molochirex relies on its spiky hide and its false head. If attacked, it will hunker down, tucking its true head low to protect its vital sensory organs and presenting the spiky knob on its neck as the apparent target. It will not engage in a prolonged brawl. Its only defensive attack is to fire its Venom Harpoon at its assailant, after which it will deliberately and calmly walk away, confident that the poison will resolve the threat.

ACTIONS

Crushing Beak: A single, powerful melee attack. The beak is capable of punching through armor and crushing bone, dealing massive damage on a successful hit.

Venom-Tipped Radula: The creature’s primary ranged attack. It fires a single, barbed tooth from a hidden proboscis. The tooth itself does minor piercing damage, but it injects a fast-acting neurotoxin. A creature hit by this attack must make a stamina or constitution check against a high difficulty or become paralyzed.

Percussive Analysis: The Molochirex takes a full round to tap and analyze a single target it can perceive. Its next attack against that target is made with a significant bonus to its accuracy and critical hit chance.

Statue-Still Camouflage: As long as the Molochirex remains motionless, it is considered invisible to normal sight. Spotting it requires a difficult perception check, often opposed by the creature’s exceptional stealth skill.

Threatening Display: The creature lowers its real head and puffs up the thorny false head on its neck, appearing as a more traditional, quadrupedal beast. This action is used to trick attackers into striking a non-vital, heavily armored area.

Hyper-auditory Sense: A passive ability. The Molochirex can hear sounds far beyond a normal range, such as the whisper of cloth, a heartbeat, or the click of a crossbow safety being disengaged from a great distance. This makes it almost impossible to surprise.

OTHER INTERESTING INFORMATION

The Molochirex’s long, skeletal finger is not made of bone, but of a unique, living, keratinous substance that is both incredibly hard and flexible. It is a biological marvel that alchemists and engineers are desperate to study. It is believed that if it could be harvested and stabilized, it could be used to create flawless diagnostic tools capable of detecting structural weaknesses in fortress walls, steam-engine boilers, or personal armor simply by touching them.

The creature’s venom is another highly sought-after component. In its raw, concentrated form, it is one of the deadliest neurotoxins on Saṃsāra. However, when carefully harvested and diluted by a master alchemist to a ratio of one thousand to one, it becomes a miraculous medical agent. A single drop of the diluted solution can act as a perfect surgical anesthetic, completely deadening pain and relaxing muscles in a localized area without causing unconsciousness. This makes it invaluable for complex and delicate medical procedures.

The species is so solitary that a “pair” is never seen. Due to the hatchlings’ instinctive cannibalism, each individual grows up entirely alone. If two adult Molochirex happen upon each other while scouting territory, they will engage in a silent standoff, standing motionless and observing each other for hours. Eventually, one will cede the territory by simply turning and walking away without any display of aggression, a silent acknowledgement of the futility of two such creatures engaging in direct combat.

A party of adventurers in the world of Saṃsāra would rarely stumble upon a Molochirex 333 by chance. This creature’s extreme patience, preference for remote and arid environments, and masterful camouflage mean that most encounters are the result of either a deliberate, highly specific quest or a terrible misfortune that leads a party deep into its chosen domain.

WHY A PARTY WOULD ENCOUNTER A MOLOCHIREX

Incidental encounters with a Molochirex are tests of nerve and perception. The creature is not an aggressive wanderer; it is a living feature of the landscape. Trouble arises when an adventuring party’s path forces them to intrude upon the territory it so calmly and lethally dominates.

The Silent Guardian of the Pass: The party may be on a time-sensitive mission that requires them to traverse a particular badlands canyon, the only known route through an otherwise impassable desert. Unbeknownst to them, this canyon is the hunting ground of an adult Molochirex. The initial encounter would not be a battle, but a slow, creeping dread. They might notice that the canyon is unnaturally silent, devoid of the usual desert wildlife. Later, they might find the bizarre, paralyzed body of a sand lion or a giant scorpion, a venomous harpoon still embedded in its hide. The true tension comes when they finally spot the creature itself, sitting perfectly still on a high ledge, resembling nothing more than a thorny, sun-bleached rock formation, its great ears slowly swiveling to track their progress. The challenge is not one of combat, but of stealth: can they pass through its territory without being identified as prey?

The Lost Expedition: A wealthy patron hires the party to find a missing team of scholars and explorers who vanished weeks ago while mapping a remote desert region. The party follows the trail of the expedition to their last known campsite, located in a rocky, secluded basin. They find the camp eerily intact—tents still standing, research notes fluttering in the breeze, and the explorers themselves, along with their pack animals, seemingly asleep in their bedrolls or by a long-dead fire. A closer inspection reveals the horrifying truth: they are not asleep, but perfectly preserved in a state of rigid paralysis. The party has stumbled upon the Molochirex’s larder. They are now faced with a terrible dilemma: can the explorers be saved with a powerful antivenom? And can they accomplish this before the patient, silent hunter returns to collect its stored meal?

The Ecological Mystery: The adventurers are summoned to a remote desert community located near a once-thriving oasis. The oasis is dying. The wildlife has vanished, the plants are failing, and the water level is dropping. The locals believe it to be the work of a curse or a malevolent spirit. The party is tasked with investigating the cause of the environmental collapse. Their search would reveal that the cause is not supernatural, but natural in the most terrifying way. A single Molochirex has established the oasis as the center of its territory. Its hyper-efficient hunting methods have systematically eliminated every creature that comes to drink, causing a catastrophic chain reaction in the local food web. To save the oasis, the party must deal with the creature, but its patient, non-aggressive defensive nature makes driving it away a near-impossible task, likely forcing a confrontation.

WHY A PARTY WOULD SEARCH FOR A MOLOCHIREX

To deliberately hunt a Molochirex is to seek out a creature that embodies silent, patient lethality. Such a quest is only undertaken for a reward of immense value, often one that can only be obtained from the beast’s unique physiology.

The Quest for the Panacea: An important political figure, a beloved monarch, or a wealthy merchant has been struck down by a mysterious and fast-acting paralytic poison from an assassin’s blade. The finest court physicians and alchemists are stumped; every antidote they try fails. A desperate search through ancient texts reveals a single, desperate hope: the venom of the Molochirex is a neurotoxin of such a unique composition that, when heavily diluted, it is the only known substance that can counteract the assassin’s poison. The party is hired for a life-or-death mission: travel to the arid wastes, find one of these elusive creatures, and harvest its venom before the noble succumbs. They must find a way to make the creature fire its radula into a collection phial, or kill it and harvest the venom sac, all while racing against time.

The Artisan’s Demand: A master artisan, renowned for their peerless work, has been commissioned to create a true masterpiece—perhaps a flawless chronometer for an emperor, or a suit of steam-armor with perfectly balanced pistons. The artisan claims that to achieve the required level of perfection, they need a diagnostic tool that can sense the most microscopic of structural flaws. They believe the only source for such a tool is the long, skeletal, vibration-sensing finger of a Molochirex. The party is hired to hunt a Molochirex and bring back its delicate hands and fingers perfectly intact. This forces the adventurers into a difficult combat where they must avoid bludgeoning or explosive damage, needing to defeat the creature with precise, surgical strikes that preserve the priceless component.

The Oracle’s Tribute: The party seeks the answer to a question that could decide the fate of a kingdom, and the only being who can provide it is a reclusive desert oracle. The oracle agrees to grant them an audience, but only if they prove their worth by bringing a worthy tribute: the “Eye of Stillness,” the great, golden eye of a Molochirex. The oracle believes that the eye, having spent decades in motionless observation, holds a perfect, photographic memory of the timeless desert landscape, and is required for a ritual of immense foresight. The party must therefore undertake a classic monster hunt, tracking the elusive beast not for wealth, but for knowledge, and facing one of the desert’s most patient and deadly predators to earn their reward.

A Molochirex’s corpse is a challenging but rewarding prospect for a skilled harvester. Beyond the specific components sought in quests—the venom, the eye, or the finger—nearly every part of its bizarre anatomy has a unique application in the alchemical, artisanal, and engineering pursuits of Saṃsāra.

THE ADAMANT BEAK

Harvest: Removing the massive, clog-shaped beak is a brutal task requiring heavy-duty saws and chisels. The material is far denser than normal bone or keratin. The primary difficulty lies in extracting it without causing large fractures, as its value is highest when it can be ground down from a solid piece. Use: The beak’s material possesses a unique crystalline structure that grants it incredible hardness. When pulverized into a fine, grey powder, it becomes a key ingredient in an alchemical tempering agent known as “Adamant Dust.” A weaponsmith who coats a blade in this dust during the final stages of forging will produce a weapon with a supernaturally hard edge, capable of chipping lesser swords and punching through conventional armor with ease. Similarly, a shield-wright can bake the dust into the surface of a shield, granting it a vastly improved resistance to crushing, bludgeoning blows.

WICKING SPINES

Harvest: The large, thorny spines from the creature’s back and its false head can be snapped off with some effort. The challenge is to do so without damaging the microscopic, hair-like grooves that run along their length from base to tip. They must be handled carefully and stored in a way that does not abrade their surface. Use: While the tips make for savage arrowheads, their true value lies in the grooves. These channels, used by the living creature to wick dew to its mouth, have a unique capillary action that works on magical liquids as well as water. An alchemist can use a Wicking Spine as a hyper-efficient stirring rod that ensures a perfect, even blend of volatile ingredients. More advanced artisans use them as fuel conduits in delicate magical machinery, drawing lantern oil or alchemical reagents from a reservoir to a combustion point at a perfectly controlled, consistent rate.

ACOUSTIC EAR CARTILAGE

Harvest: The two large, leathery ears are supported by a complex and flexible cartilage structure. This must be carefully dissected from the head and preserved in a glycerin solution to prevent it from becoming brittle. Use: This cartilage has unparalleled acoustic properties. When rendered down into a thick, translucent gel, it can be applied to the interior of a room or a helmet, creating a near-perfect sound-dampening field. A room treated with this gel is almost completely silent to those outside. Conversely, if the cartilage is carefully shaped and stretched over a frame, it creates a hyper-sensitive acoustic dish. A listening device built with such a dish can pick up the sound of a whisper from a hundred yards away, making it an invaluable tool for spies and scouts.

PNEUMATIC RADULA PROBOSCIS

Harvest: This is a disgusting and difficult harvest requiring the harvester to reach deep into the creature’s beak to extract the muscular, tube-like organ that fires the venom-harpoon. It is a single, powerful muscle, and it must be removed whole and preserved quickly before it stiffens. Use: This organ is a masterpiece of biological engineering. Its internal structure is a natural pneumatic cannon, using a sudden muscular contraction to generate immense pressure. A magi-tech engineer or a master weaponsmith can study its design to replicate it on a larger scale. This has led to the creation of the “Proboscis Launcher,” a new type of silent, air-powered weapon. Instead of firing with a loud explosion, it uses a steam-pressurized chamber that mimics the creature’s muscle, allowing it to silently fire grappling hooks, signal flares, or small canisters of sleep gas.

CEREBELLUM OF PERCUSSION

Harvest: An exceptionally difficult harvest that requires sawing through the thick skull and carefully extracting the brain. The cerebellum, which processes the creature’s vibrational and auditory senses, is a distinct, dense knot of pale nerve tissue at the back of the brain. It must be harvested within minutes of death and placed in an enchanted, nutrient-rich fluid. Use: This nerve cluster is the source of the creature’s uncanny perception. An alchemist with extreme skill can perform a dangerous extraction and distillation process on the cerebellum to create a “Vibration-Sense Elixir.” A single drop of this potent elixir placed on the tongue grants the user a temporary, overwhelming version of the Molochirex’s senses for about a minute. They can “feel” the vibrations of footsteps through solid stone and “hear” the heartbeats of nearby creatures. However, the user is often overwhelmed by the sheer volume of sensory information, suffering from intense vertigo and disorientation as a side effect.

PROUD HUNTER AND STONE THAT WAITS

The old stories tell of a man whose name was Kayan, and his skill with the spear was a song in the mouths of his people. He had hunted the great sand lion and the cliff-horned goat. His lodge was filled with the trophies of his might, and his heart was filled with the heavy stone of pride. He came to believe that no creature that walked or crawled was his equal in the contest of life and death.

One day, travelers from the sun-scorched south spoke in hushed tones of a creature in the great arid wastes, a beast they called the Patient Thorn. They said it was not a beast of rage or speed, but a living statue, a thing of stillness and a single, silent dart. They said no hunter had ever returned with its hide, for no hunter had ever returned at all from its lands. Kayan’s pride, hearing this, became a hot fire in his belly. He stood before his people and made a great boast, “I, Kayan, will go to the wastes. I will find this thing that thinks it can hide from me. I will break its stillness and bring its spiky head back for my lodge.” And so he went.

He traveled into the desert, a place of shimmering air and baked earth. For days he walked, his eyes scanning the horizon. He was the greatest of trackers, yet he found no sign. There were no footprints, no spoor, no broken plants to mark the creature’s passage. The desert was empty, and Kayan’s pride began to sour into frustration. On the seventh day, as he rested against what he thought was a strange, thorny boulder, the boulder turned its great head. Its massive, clog-like beak opened in a silent yawn. Its golden, unblinking eyes stared into him. Kayan leaped back, his heart a frantic drum. He had been resting against the flank of his quarry.

With his composure regained, Kayan nocked an arrow, the kind with a head of sharpened obsidian. He fired. The arrow flew true, but it struck the creature’s thorny hide and shattered, the pieces falling uselessly to the sand. The Patient Thorn did not flinch. It did not roar. It simply watched him. Then, a long, skeletal finger rose from its hand and began to tap, not on the ground, but on the air itself, a strange, silent drumming aimed at Kayan. Kayan felt a faint, unnerving vibration buzz against the bronze centerpiece of his own chest armor.

Thus began the true hunt, but it was Kayan who felt like the prey. He circled the creature, spear ready, looking for a weakness in its armor of thorns. The creature did not move from its spot. It only swiveled its great, leathery ears to follow his sounds, and its huge, golden eyes followed his form. The tapping of its long finger never ceased. It was a contest not of speed or strength, but of wills. Kayan was a man of action, of the swift chase and the quick kill. The creature was a thing of absolute, unending stillness.

A day passed. Kayan did not sleep. The creature did not move. A second day passed. Kayan’s water grew low. The creature stood, as if it were a part of the desert itself, needing nothing. On the third day, Kayan’s mind began to fray. The silence, the constant unblinking stare, the incessant feeling of that vibrational tap upon his armor—it was a form of warfare he did not understand. His pride could not endure being ignored, being treated as a thing to be calmly observed and measured.

In a final, prideful rage, he gave a great war cry that was swallowed by the vast emptiness. He gripped his spear and charged, determined to shatter the creature’s stillness with a mighty blow. He ran across the sand, his target motionless, waiting. He saw the flesh-tube emerge from within the great beak. He saw the puff of air, silent and small. He felt a sharp sting on his chest, a tiny impact on the very spot the creature’s finger had been analyzing for three days.

The strength fled his limbs as if it were water poured from a cup. He fell to his knees, his spear tumbling from his grasp. His body became a stone, and only his eyes could move, wide with terror and disbelief. The Patient Thorn, its victory assured, took its first deliberate, slow step. It walked calmly over to the fallen hunter, its golden eyes showing no malice, no triumph, only a quiet and methodical purpose. The great hunter had become the waiting meal.

Moral of the story: Pride is a roaring fire that consumes itself quickly, but patience is a stone that the fire cannot burn. The world does not yield to the loudest shout, but to the quietest wait.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

CALL OF CTHULHU

THE PATIENT HORROR OF THE WASTES

This creature is an aberration of nature, a thing of impossible patience and alien intellect. It does not act like a normal animal; it is a living statue, a biological trap that can wait for weeks for prey to come to it. Its hunting method is unnervingly analytical, and its venom induces a terrifying, helpless paralysis.

STR 60, CON 70, SIZ 65, DEX 30, INT 55, POW 80, HP 13 Move: 4 ATTACKS:

  • Attacks per round: 1
  • Crushing Beak 40% (20/8), damage 1d10+1d6
  • Venom Dart 60% (30/12), damage 1 plus potent neurotoxin

Dodge 15% (7/3) Armor: 2-point thorny hide. Skills: Stealth 80%, Listen 75%.

SPECIAL RULES:

  • Statuesque Camouflage: If the creature is motionless, it is indistinguishable from a thorny desert rock formation and can only be spotted with an Extreme Spot Hidden roll, and only if an Investigator has reason to look for it.
  • Percussive Analysis: The Patient Horror can spend a full round silently tapping its finger and analyzing a single target. Its next attack against that target gains a bonus die and ignores up to 4 points of armor.
  • Paralytic Venom: The venom dart forces a Hard CON roll. If failed, the victim’s body grows progressively numb. They lose 20 DEX per round. When DEX reaches 0, they are completely paralyzed but fully conscious for 1d6+1 hours.
  • Beak Crush: The creature will only use this attack on a paralyzed or otherwise helpless victim. It automatically hits and does maximum damage.
  • Sanity Loss: 1/1d4 SAN points for witnessing the creature and its unnervingly calm analytical behavior; 1d6 SAN if an Investigator or their companion begins to feel the effects of the paralysis.

BLADES IN THE DARK

THE ASH-THORN WATCHER (A patient, terrifying, aberration; Tier III Threat)

This creature is a legend of the Deathlands, a silent killer that some say is not a living thing but an ancient curse given form. It does not hunt; it waits. It is the perfect assassin, a being of pure, methodical patience. A crew might be hired to retrieve something from its territory, a task made near-impossible by the creature’s constant, silent vigil.

DRIVES:

  • To remain unseen and undisturbed.
  • To analyze and neutralize any perceived threat with absolute efficiency.
  • To collect victims in its silent, living larder.

MOVES (GM ACTIONS):

  • Be mistaken for a dead plant or rock formation.
  • Reveal its presence only after it has already acted.
  • Fire a silent, paralytic dart from an impossible distance.
  • Target a specific weakness with unnerving precision.
  • Wait out any siege, storm, or other threat with inhuman patience.
  • Calmly approach a paralyzed victim.

NOTES FOR THE GM: The Ash-Thorn Watcher is not a brawler. A direct fight is something it will always avoid. An encounter with it should be a long, tense situation. Use a clock to represent the “Standoff,” with each tick representing the crew losing their nerve, running low on supplies, or making a mistake. Another clock could represent “Paralysis Sets In” after a character is hit by its dart. A score involving this creature might require the crew to create a diversion to lure it away from something it is guarding, a task complicated by its extreme patience.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

MOLOCHIREX (Medium monstrosity, unaligned)

Armor Class: 14 (natural armor) Hit Points: 68 (8d8 + 32) Speed: 20 ft.

STR 14 (+2), DEX 10 (+0), CON 18 (+4), INT 5 (-3), WIS 16 (+3), CHA 5 (-3)

Skills: Perception +6, Stealth +3 Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Tremorsense 30 ft., Passive Perception 16 Challenge: 3

False Appearance. While the molochirex remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a thorny desert plant or rock formation.

Patient Hunter. The molochirex has advantage on initiative rolls. Additionally, if it attacks a creature that has not yet taken a turn in the first round of combat, that attack is a critical hit.

ACTIONS:

  • Crushing Beak. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d12 + 2) bludgeoning damage.
  • Venomous Radula (Recharge 5-6). Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 30/60 ft., one creature. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 hour. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
  • Percussive Analysis (1/Day). The molochirex spends its action focusing on one creature it can see within 60 feet. For the next minute, all of the molochirex’s attacks against that creature score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20.

KNAVE

THORN-BILLED STALKER

HD 5, Armor as Plate (16), Morale 11, Beak d12, Move 20ft

  • Stillness: If it does not move during its turn, it cannot be detected by normal sight. Characters will only notice it if they physically touch it or if it attacks.
  • Analyze Weakness: The Stalker can spend its turn doing nothing but observing a single target. Its next attack against that target is made with Advantage and cannot miss.
  • Paralysis Dart: Once per combat, it can fire a venomous tooth at a single target within 60 feet. The target must save versus poison with a Disadvantage. If they fail, they are paralyzed for 1d4 turns, unable to act.
  • Slow and Steady: The creature is immune to fear and all effects that would cause it to flee.

FATE

THE STILLNESS THAT KILLS

This creature is an NPC that acts more like a force of nature or a complex trap than a standard combatant. The challenge is not in defeating it through attrition, but in surviving its unnerving, analytical process and escaping its notice.

HIGH CONCEPT: Patient, Analytical Apex Predator TROUBLE: Cannot Be Rushed or Intimidated OTHER ASPECTS: Eyes That See Every Flaw, A Statue of Thorns and Bone, A Silent Dart of Paralysis

SKILLS:

  • Great (+4): Notice, Shoot
  • Good (+3): Will, Physique
  • Fair (+2): Fight
  • Mediocre (+1): Stealth (it doesn’t sneak, it simply is)
  • Poor (-1): Athletics

STUNTS:

  • Percussive Analysis: The Stillness can spend a full exchange to Create an Advantage on a target using its Notice skill, representing its vibrational tapping. If successful, it creates the aspect Weak Point Identified with two free invokes.
  • Paralytic Venom: When The Stillness succeeds with style on a Shoot attack, instead of a simple boost, it can attach the sticky aspect Creeping Numbness to the target. This aspect can only be removed with a successful Overcome action using Physique at a high difficulty.
  • Perfect Stillness: The Stillness cannot be the target of any action until it has first acted in a scene, unless a character first succeeds on an Overcome action with Investigate against a Fantastic (+6) difficulty to spot it.

NUMENERA & CYPHER SYSTEM

THE KERATIN SENTINEL

LEVEL: 4 MOTIVE: To observe, analyze, and neutralize threats to its designated territory. ENVIRONMENT: Arid ruins, deserts, or guarding specific locations from a static vantage point. HEALTH: 12 DAMAGE: 4 ARMOR: 3 MOVEMENT: Slow MODIFICATIONS: Perception as level 7 due to its hyper-sensitive ears and vibrational finger. Stealth as level 6 when motionless.

COMBAT: The Keratin Sentinel avoids direct melee. Its primary form of attack is its Venom Dart, a ranged attack at long range. A target hit by the dart takes no immediate damage. Instead, the difficulty of all physical actions the target takes is increased by one step. This effect is cumulative. If the difficulty of a target’s actions is increased by three steps in this way, the target becomes paralyzed and unable to take physical actions for one hour. The effect can be ended earlier if an antidote of level 4 or higher is administered. If a target is paralyzed or otherwise helpless, the Sentinel will calmly approach and use its Crushing Beak. This is a level 5 attack that inflicts 6 points of damage. As its entire action for a turn, the Sentinel can perform a Weakness Analysis on a single target. The difficulty of the Sentinel’s next attack against that target is decreased by two steps.

PATHFINDER

MOLOCHIREX STALKER (CREATURE 3) UNCOMMON, N, MEDIUM, ABERRATION, ANIMAL

Perception +11; darkvision, vibration sense (imprecise) 30 feet Skills: Athletics +9, Stealth +8 (+12 in rocky or desert terrain), Survival +9 Str +3, Dex +0, Con +4, Int -3, Wis +4, Cha -2 Vibration Sense: The molochirex can sense vibrations in the ground, automatically detecting any creature in contact with the ground within the listed range.

AC 19; Fort +11, Ref +6, Will +9 HP 45 Spiny Defense [reaction] Trigger: A creature touches the molochirex or hits it with a melee unarmed attack. Effect: The triggering creature takes 1d6 piercing damage.

Speed 20 feet Melee [one-action] Beak +11, Damage 1d12+5 piercing Ranged [one-action] Radula Dart +8 (range increment 30 feet), Damage 1d4 piercing plus Molochirex Venom

Molochirex Venom (incapacitation, poison) Saving Throw DC 19 Fortitude; Maximum Duration 6 rounds; Stage 1 1d6 poison damage and flat-footed (1 round); Stage 2 1d6 poison damage, flat-footed and slowed 1 (1 round); Stage 3 paralyzed (1d4 hours). Analyze Weakness [one-action] (concentrate) The molochirex designates a single creature it can see as its prey. It gains a +1 circumstance bonus to attack rolls against its prey. This effect lasts until the molochirex uses Analyze Weakness again.

SAVAGE WORLDS

THE DESERT SPINE-DART (WILD CARD)

A bizarre and patient predator of the arid wastes, the Spine-Dart is a tactical monster. It prefers to analyze its foes from a distance before delivering a single, debilitating shot.

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d10, Strength d8, Vigor d8 Skills: Athletics d4, Fighting d8, Notice d12, Shooting d10, Stealth d10 Pace: 4; Parry: 6; Toughness: 8 (2) Edges: Alertness, Steady Hands

SPECIAL ABILITIES:

  • Armor +2: Thorny Hide.
  • Beak: Str+d8
  • Fearless: The Desert Spine-Dart is immune to Fear and Intimidation tests.
  • Camouflage: When motionless in its native desert terrain, it gains a +4 bonus to Stealth rolls.
  • Venom Dart: The creature uses its Shooting skill to fire its radula harpoon. Range 12/24/48. If it hits, the target must make a Vigor roll at -2. Failure results in the target gaining a level of Fatigue. On a critical failure, they gain two levels. This Fatigue is considered a poison effect and can lead to Incapacitation, which in this case means paralysis.
  • Analyze Prey: As an action, the Spine-Dart can make a Notice roll opposed by a character’s Stealth. If successful, the Spine-Dart gains a +2 bonus to its next attack roll against that character.

SHADOWRUN

THE STILLNESS HUNTER (PARACRITTER)

This bizarre paracritter is a highly specialized ambush predator found in remote, arid environments like the Mojave or the Australian Outback. Its unique biology and unnervingly patient hunting style have led some corporate biologists to suspect it may be an escaped or abandoned bio-weapon designed for targeted assassination.

Attributes: Body 4, Agility 3, Reaction 3(5), Strength 3 Essence: 6.0, Magic: 6.0 Initiative: 8 + 3d6 Matrix AR: N/A Condition Monitor: 10P / 10S

Skills: Athletics 2, Exotic Ranged Weapon (Venom Spitter) 5, Perception 6, Stealth 7, Unarmed Combat 3 Powers: Armor 4, Camouflage (Desert/Rocky), Enhanced Senses (Hearing), Natural Weapon (Beak, DV 4P, AP -2), Toxin (Neurotoxic Paralysis)

SPECIAL ABILITIES:

  • Patient Ambusher: If the Stillness Hunter has not taken a Move Action on its turn, its first attack receives 2 bonus Edge.
  • Percussive Analysis: As a Major Action, the creature may make a Perception + Intuition (4) test against a single target it can see. For each net hit, it ignores 2 points of the target’s armor on its next successful attack.
  • Venom Dart: The creature’s Exotic Ranged Weapon attack does not cause direct damage. Instead, a target hit is exposed to its neurotoxin. They must make a Body + Willpower (4) test. Failure inflicts the Paralyzed status effect for 1d6 combat rounds.

STARFINDER

XERIC STALKER (CR 3) XP 800 N Medium animal Init +0; Senses low-light vision, sense-through (vibration) 60 ft.; Perception +13

DEFENSE EAC 14; KAC 15 HP 38 Fort +7; Ref +5; Will +4 Defensive Abilities: Thorny Hide

OFFENSE Speed 20 ft. Melee beak +8 (1d8+5 B) Ranged venom dart +11 (1d4 P plus xeric stalker venom)

STATISTICS Str +2; Dex +0; Con +2; Int -4; Wis +4; Cha -2 Skills Stealth +8, Survival +8

SPECIAL ABILITIES Natural Camouflage: The xeric stalker is considered to have concealment at all times while in rocky or desert terrain. Thorny Hide: A creature that hits the xeric stalker with a natural weapon or unarmed strike takes 1d4 piercing damage. Xeric Stalker Venom: Type poison (injury); Save Fortitude DC 12; Frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; Effect progressive paralysis (Each failed save increases the penalty on all attack rolls, ability checks, and skill checks by -1. If the penalty reaches -5, the victim is paralyzed); Cure 2 consecutive saves.

TRAVELLER

THE DUNE IMPALER (DESERT PREDATOR)

A solitary ambush hunter native to arid, low-atmosphere worlds. The Dune Impaler is a biological marvel, a creature that has evolved to hunt through extreme patience and a single, perfectly aimed, debilitating strike. They are a noted hazard for prospectors and colonists on desert planets.

UPP: 53A38A-0 Skills: Stealth-3, Recon-2, Shooter (spitter)-2 Pace: 6m Armor: 3 (Keratinous Spines) Weapons:

  • Beak (crushing): 8, 2d6
  • Venom Dart: 10, Paralysis (see below)

Traits: Camouflage (Desert), Patient, Fearless Behavior: The Dune Impaler remains motionless for days at a time, appearing as part of the landscape. It uses its advanced hearing and vibration sense to track targets. Before attacking, it will spend a full round analyzing a target. Its next shot is made at DM+2. Venom Dart: A target hit by the dart must make an Average (8+) Endurance check. Failure imposes a negative DM on all physical actions (any check using STR, DEX, or END). The DM is -1 for the first round, -2 for the second, and so on. If the negative DM reaches -4, the character is paralyzed for 1d6 hours. The effect can be negated by a suitable antitoxin (Vaccine, TL10+).

WARHAMMER FANTASY ROLEPLAY

THE ARABYAN THORN-THING

A monstrous beast that haunts the great deserts of Araby and the southern Badlands. It is a thing of unnatural patience, said to be a creature of the earth that has been touched by a strange, cold intelligence. It kills not with rage, but with the dispassionate precision of a master assassin.

M 3, WS 35, BS 45, S 35, T 40, I 45, Agi 20, Dex 15, Int 25, Wp 55, Fel 5 Wounds: 15

Traits: Armour (2), Bite (9), Die Hard, Fear (1), Hardy, Night Vision (20), Size (Medium), Stealthy, Venom (Paralytic, Challenging), Weapon+9 Skills: Endurance 50, Perception 65, Stealth (Rural) 45

SPECIAL ABILITIES:

  • Patient Ambusher: While it remains still, the Thorn-Thing is exceptionally hard to spot, requiring a Very Hard (-30) Perception Test. If it attacks a Surprised target, its first attack inflicts an automatic Critical Wound.
  • Analyze Weakness: The Thorn-Thing can spend its turn making an Opposed Perception/Cool Test against a single target it can see. If it wins the test, it ignores all Armour Points on its next successful attack against that target.
  • Venom Dart: The Thorn-Thing uses its BS to fire a venomous dart with a range of 20 yards. A creature struck must make a Challenging (+0) Endurance Test or suffer the effects of its Paralytic Venom, gaining the Stunned condition. If the creature is already Stunned, it becomes Unconscious for 1d10 rounds instead.