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Scolopendra Galeos 772

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by

Dale
in

This creature is a chimeric fusion of four distinct classes within the Animalia Kingdom:

  • Chilopoda (Centipede): Represented by the Giant Scolopendra.
  • Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fish): Represented by the Bull Shark.
  • Aves (Birds): Represented by the Bearded Vulture (Lammergeier).
  • Mammalia (Mammals): Represented by the Honey Badger.

Appearance

The Scolopendra-Galeos 772 possesses a long, segmented body encased in a matte-black, chitinous exoskeleton that feels like sandpapered sharkskin. From its mammalian and avian ancestry, it sports a thick, bristly mane of yellowish “feathers” that are actually ossified quills running down its spine. Its head is blunt and powerful, featuring the unhinging jaws of a shark lined with serrated teeth, but flanked by two massive, venom-dripping forcipules (pincers). Its underside features forty-eight powerful, clawed limbs that allow it to scale vertical skyscraper ruins with ease.

Size and Speed

  • Size: Typically reaches 14 feet in length and weighs approximately 800 lbs.
  • Speed: 45 mph (Land), 30 mph (Swimming/Submerged), 60 mph (Burst lunge).

Stat Modifiers

  • Strength: +4 (Powerful jaw pressure and crushing limbs)
  • Dexterity: +3 (Multi-legged coordination and wall-crawling)
  • Constitution: +5 (Honey badger resilience and shark-like healing)
  • Intelligence: -3 (Feral and instinct-driven)
  • Wisdom: +2 (Hyper-sensitive to vibrations and electrical fields)
  • Charisma: -4 (Utterly terrifying presence)

Skills

  • Electrolocation: Can sense the magic flow or nervous systems of hidden avatars within 60 feet.
  • Bone-Crushing Bite: Can consume any organic or inorganic material, including armor.
  • Wall-Walk: Can traverse any surface, including ceilings, without penalty.
  • Venomous Grip: Forcipules deliver a paralytic agent that lowers the target’s Dexterity by 2 per strike.

Behavior

The 772 is notoriously fearless and aggressive, often attacking creatures significantly larger than itself. It does not hunt for sport but is highly territorial. It utilizes a “breach and drag” tactic—bursting from cover (or water), gripping a target with its pincers, and dragging it into a dark crevice to feed. It is solitary and will fight its own kind to the death over territory.

Diet

Omnivorous Scavenger/Predator: It primarily consumes the bones of large monsters, but will eat magic crystals, scrap metal from steam engines, and any avatars unlucky enough to cross its path.

Emotions

Primarily driven by Relentless Stubbornness and Primal Hunger. It does not feel fear, which often leads to its demise against high-tier avatars, as it will not retreat even when mortally wounded.

Environment

Found in the Ruins of Old Civilizations, specifically where urban megacities meet the coastline. They are common in damp, dark skyscraper basements and the cave systems beneath the 73 island countries.

Tags

feral, chimera, tier 2, aquatic-hybrid, wall-crawler, bone-eater, fearless, venomous, armored, solitary, apex, relentless, apex-predator, chimaeric, bone-breaker, night-stalker, electrical-sense, rapid-striker, scavenger-king, urban-terror

Life Cycle and Development of the Scolopendra-Galeos 772

The life cycle of a 772 is a grim testament to the high-magic volatility of Saṃsāra. They do not experience a standard infancy; instead, they undergo a rapid, violent metamorphosis.

  • The Spawning (Egg Phase): Females deposit clutches of translucent, leathery eggs in underwater skyscraper basements. The eggs absorb magic flow from the surrounding water, pulsing with a faint blue light.
  • The Larval Maw: Upon hatching, the young (called “Maws”) are entirely aquatic and resemble small, translucent sharks with centipede legs. They are cannibalistic, devouring their siblings until only the strongest remain.
  • The Chitinous Breach: After six months, the survivor develops its terrestrial lungs and forcipules. It crawls out of the water, shedding its shark-like skin for a hardened chitinous exoskeleton.
  • Adulthood: They reach full maturity within two years. Due to their honey badger DNA, they have no natural sense of self-preservation, leading to a high mortality rate but ensuring that those who survive are apex terrors.

Mating Rituals

Mating is one of the few times these solitary creatures interact without immediate lethal intent, though it remains a high-risk event.

  • Electrical Serenade: The male uses its Electrolocation to pulse a specific frequency through the magic circuits of the ruins it inhabits. This “song” can be felt by avatars as a vibrating hum in their teeth.
  • The Trial of Tenacity: The female will attack the male upon sight. The male must pin the female using his 48 legs without dealing a lethal blow. If he fails to prove his strength, he is consumed as a post-mating meal before the act even begins.
  • The Gift of Bone: A successful male often brings the skull of a high-tier monster or a piece of rare steam-engine scrap as a “nesting” gift to pacify the female’s aggression.

Combat Tactics and Maneuvers

In the world of Saṃsāra, encountering a 772 requires immediate tactical awareness of the environment.

  • Vertical Ambush: They prefer to cling to the underside of pipes or the ceilings of dark cave systems. They drop directly onto the rear-most member of a group, using their weight to pin the target.
  • The Steam Screen: If wounded, the creature can rapidly vibrate its mane, heating the damp air around it to create a localized cloud of thick, scalding steam. It uses this cover to reposition for a second strike.
  • Pincer-Lock: Once the forcipules lock onto a limb, the creature begins a “death roll” similar to a shark, using its multi-legged grip to tear gear and flesh simultaneously.

Actions in Combat

  • Multi-Legged Grapple: The 772 attempts to wrap its body around a target. The target must succeed in a Strength or Dexterity contest to avoid being restrained.
  • Venomous Injection: A successful strike with the pincers delivers a neurotoxin. The victim feels a cold numbness spreading from the wound, causing a “Slowed” status.
  • Chitinous Shielding: The creature can curl into a tight ball, exposing only its sandpaper-tough exoskeleton, increasing its defense significantly against physical projectiles and steam-based attacks.

Other Interesting Information

  • Steam Sensitivity: Because they rely on vibrations and electrical fields, the loud, rhythmic thumping of a heavy steam engine can actually disorient them or drive them into a blind rage.
  • Trophy Value: The ossified quills of a 772 are highly sought after by Tier 2 avatars. They can be fashioned into high-conductivity magic needles or serrated bayonets for firearms.
  • Metropolis Pests: In megacities, they are known to chew through magic storage crystals in basement power grids, causing localized blackouts and “magic ebbs” in entire city blocks.

Adventurers in the high-magic world of Saṃsāra rarely seek out a Scolopendra-Galeos 772 for sport. Instead, encounters are driven by the necessity of survival, the pursuit of high-tier industrial materials, or the complexities of urban political intrigue.

Reasons for Encounter or Search

  • Resource Harvesting for Industry: The ossified quills and chitinous plates of the 772 are essential for crafting high-conductivity magic needles and reinforced boiler plating. Since the creature’s armor is resistant to both physical projectiles and steam-based heat, it is the premier material for building high-pressure steam-engine components and specialized Tier 2 gear.
  • Infrastructure Maintenance: These creatures are notorious for nesting in the dark basements of metropolis skyscrapers. They frequently chew through magic storage crystals and copper magic circuits, causing localized power failures. A party might be hired by city officials to clear a “basement nest” to restore magic flow to an entire district.
  • Guardian of the “Old World”: Because they thrive in dark, humid environments, they often claim the ruins of old civilizations as their territory. Adventurers searching for lost pre-Isekai artifacts or forgotten blueprints in ancient vaults will inevitably have to bypass or slay these fearless apex predators.
  • Biological Study and Alchemical Research: Alchemists within the 73 Island countries study the 772’s electrolocation abilities. By harvesting the creature’s sensory organs, researchers aim to develop “Mind’s Eye” augments that allow avatars to sense magic flow through walls or deep underwater.
  • The “Buyer Beware” Market: A live Scolopendra-Galeos 772—or even a viable egg clutch—fetches a massive price in the Rhodium-tier markets. Wealthy island lords sometimes seek these terrors to serve as living security systems for their underwater treasure vaults.

Defensive and Offensive Preparation

If your party is preparing for a hunt, standard Tier 1 gear may be insufficient due to the creature’s bone-crushing bite and fearless nature. Consider investing in specialized equipment to handle the encounter:

  • Heavy Plated Armor: To withstand the crushing force of the 772’s pincer-lock.
  • High-Frequency Sound Emitters: To disorient the creature’s sensitive electrolocation.
  • Alchemical Flash Grenades: To capitalize on its light-sensitive eyes in dark environments.

When an avatar successfully fells a Scolopendra-Galeos 772, the harvesting process is a race against the ebbing magic flow within the corpse. Because the creature is a chimaeric blend of four classes, its body provides a wide array of alchemical and industrial components.

Harvestable Materials and Their Uses

  • Ossified Spine Quills: These needle-like feathers are highly sought after by magic-circuit engineers. Because they possess the avian property of lightness and the mammalian property of durability, they are used as the primary needles in high-speed alchemical looms or as focus-points for telepathic relays in metropolises.
  • Sandpapered Shark-Chitin: The leathery, abrasive plates of the exoskeleton are used as a premium abrasive for polishing magic crystals. Additionally, when layered with steam-treated adhesive, these plates are fashioned into industrial-grade boots that allow avatars to walk on slick, oil-covered surfaces in factory island countries.
  • Aqueous-Gile Glands: Located near the jaw, these glands store the fluid that allows the 772 to breathe both air and elemental water. Alchemists distill this into Potions of Amphibious Adaptation, which are essential for traders traveling to underwater population centers.
  • Electrolocation Sensory Nods: These small, pulsing nodes found along the snout are the creature’s electrical sensors. Once harvested and preserved in a magic-storage crystal, they can be integrated into handheld scanners used by explorers to detect hidden magic traps or mineral veins within dark cave systems.
  • Serrated Mandibles: The massive shark-like teeth and pincer-forcipules are rarely melted down. Instead, they are sharpened and mounted onto mechanical power transmission systems as heavy-duty cutting blades or used as bayonets for gunpowder-based firearms.
  • Concentrated Bile: The honey-badger-derived digestive fluids are so corrosive they can dissolve bone and metal. This bile is bottled as an industrial solvent for cleaning rust from ancient steam pipes or used offensively in alchemical glass grenades to melt enemy armor.

Suggested Gear for Harvesting

To safely harvest these materials without damaging their magical integrity, you will need specialized tools. Standard knives often shatter against the chitinous shell.

The Wiss W7T Heavy Duty Titanium Coated Scissors are excellent for cutting through the leathery sections of the hide and the fibrous avian quills. Their titanium coating ensures they do not dull when meeting the sharkskin texture of the exoskeleton.

For the heavier pincer-mandibles and chitinous plates, the Bora 5-Piece Heavy Duty Chisel Set provides the necessary leverage and impact resistance. These can be driven into the joints of the 772 to pry apart the armored segments without cracking the valuable internal organs.

Forty-Eight Thunders and Shark of Earth

In the time when the stars were yet dripping with the milk of creation, and the 73 islands were but soft mud beneath the feet of the First Avatars, there dwelt a Great Spirit in the hollows of the world. This spirit was not of one shape, but of the many-forms-which-clash. It had the hunger of the Endless Sea, the stubbornness of the Small-Beast-That-Does-Not-Die, and the many-walking-limbs of the Shadow-Crawl.

The ancient scrolls, found in the high skyscrapers where the glass turned to salt, speak of a king named “He-Who-Rules-with-Steam.” This king did desire a crown that would never rust and a heart that would never stop its rhythmic thumping. He did send his bravest seekers into the dark-basement-of-the-world, for it was whispered that the Scolopendra-Galeos 772 carried the very iron of the earth in its bones.

The seekers did descend, carrying torches of magic-crystal. They did find the creature clinging to the ceiling of the Great Void, its forty-eight legs moving like the gears of a broken clock. The creature did not speak, for its mouth was full of the “Teeth-of-Serration.” It did drop upon them like a stone from the heavens, and the steam of its breath did hide the path of their retreat.

One seeker, known as “The-One-Who-Observes-the-Flow,” did notice that the creature did not strike with anger, but with the “Relentless-Now.” It did chew the swords of the seekers as if they were but soft moss. It did ignore the fire and the cold. The king’s men did flee, leaving behind their brass tools and their pride.

The Great Spirit of the 772 then did crawl into the king’s own machine-room. It did eat the “Great-Storage-Crystal” which fueled the city’s light. The king did cry out, “Why do you take the soul of my city?”

The creature did only vibrate its mane of quills, making a sound like a thousand thunders. It was then that the sages did understand: the creature was the “Cleaner-of-the-Circuit.” It did not hate the king; it only sought to return the stolen magic to the earth from which it came. The king did learn to build his pipes with the chitin of the fallen, and the creature did learn to dwell in the shadows of the king’s progress.

Moral of the Story: Do not build your house upon the path of the hungry earth, for the earth has forty-eight legs and a jaw that never tires.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Unique Name: The Scuttling Terror of the Depths

Characteristics:

  • STR: 140
  • CON: 150
  • SIZ: 160
  • DEX: 75
  • INT: 15
  • POW: 50
  • HP: 31
  • Build: 4
  • Move: 9 / 7 Swimming
  • Armor: 8-point Chitinous Exoskeleton

Attacks:

  • Fighting: 60% (30/12), damage 1D10 + 3D6.
  • Pincer-Lock (Maneuver): 60%, the target is grabbed and suffers 2D6 automatic damage each round until a successful Opposed STR roll is made to escape.
  • Venomous Injection: If a pincer strike succeeds, the target must pass a Hard CON roll or suffer a penalty die on all physical actions for 1D6 hours.

Sanity Loss: 1/1D10 Sanity points to encounter a Scolopendra-Galeos 772.

Blades in the Dark

Unique Name: The Basement Chimera

Tier: 2 (Large Feral) Quality: 4 (Scale/Armor)

Traits:

  • Relentless: The Chimera ignores the first level of Harm it receives in a scene.
  • Vibration Sense: It can “see” through walls and smoke by sensing movement and magic flow.
  • Amphibious: It is equally dangerous in flooded districts as it is in dry ruins.

Consequences & Maneuvers:

  • Terrifying Lunge: (Complication) The creature bursts from the ceiling. You are pinned and lose your footing unless you Resist with Prowess.
  • Armor Crushing: (Harm) The creature’s jaws bite through your gear. Your Armor is broken or a piece of equipment is rendered useless until repaired.

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Unique Name: Chimeric Tide-Crawler

Large Monstrosity, Unaligned

  • Armor Class: 17 (Natural Armor)
  • Hit Points: 126 (12d10 + 60)
  • Speed: 40 ft., climb 40 ft., swim 30 ft.

Abilities:

  • STR: 19 (+4)
  • DEX: 16 (+3)
  • CON: 20 (+5)
  • INT: 3 (-4)
  • WIS: 14 (+2)
  • CHA: 5 (-3)

Features:

  • Amphibious: The creature can breathe air and water.
  • Spider Climb: The creature can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
  • Relentless (Recharges after a Short or Long Rest): If the creature takes 15 damage or less that would reduce it to 0 hit points, it is reduced to 1 hit point instead.

Actions:

  • Multiattack: The creature makes two Pincer attacks and one Bite attack.
  • Pincer: Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage and the target is grappled (escape DC 15).
  • Bite: Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one grappled target. Hit: 18 (4d6 + 4) piercing damage.

Knave (2nd Edition)

Unique Name: Ruin-Shark Centipede

Level: 6 (HD: 6d8, HP: 27) Armor: 16 (Heavy Chitin) Move: 40 ft., Climb 40 ft. Morale: 12 (Fearless)

Attacks:

  • Pincers: 2 attacks (1d8 damage). On a hit, the target is grabbed.
  • Bite: 1 attack (2d10 damage). Only usable against grabbed targets.

Special Properties:

  • Magic Scent: The creature always attacks the character carrying the most magic crystals or Tier 1+ gear first.
  • Death Throes: When reduced to 0 HP, the creature makes one final Bite attack against its killer before dying.
  • Steam Haze: Once per combat, it can emit a cloud that grants it Partial Cover for 3 rounds.

Fate Core / Condensed

Unique Name: Scolopendra-Galeos 772

Item Type: Adversary (Legendary Creature) Lore: A nightmare of shifting plates and serrated teeth, this creature is a living embodiment of the “Relentless Now.”

Game Mechanics:

  • Aspects: Apex Chimeric Terror, Forty-Eight Legs of the Shadow-Crawl, Fearless Bone-Crusher, Sensitive to the Magic Flow.
  • Skills: Great (+4) Physique, Great (+4) Fight, Good (+3) Athletics, Good (+3) Notice, Fair (+2) Stealth.
  • Stunt (Passive): Hardened Chitin. The creature has Armor: 2 against all physical and steam-based attacks.
  • Stunt (Active): Death Roll. When the Scolopendra-Galeos succeeds with style on a Fight attack, it can choose to deal its shifts as physical stress and also attach the situation aspect Pinned and Crushed with one free invoke.
  • Stress: Physical [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] / Mental [ ] [ ]

Numenera & Cypher System

Unique Name: Ruin-Marrow Ravager

Level: 6 (18) Lore: A synth-organic hybrid that seems to have evolved specifically to thrive in the decaying megastructures of the world.

Game Mechanics:

  • Armor: 3
  • Combat: The Ravager attacks twice per round with its pincers. If both hit, it immediately follows with a bite that deals 8 points of damage.
  • Electrolocation: The difficulty of any task to hide from or sneak past the creature is increased by two steps if the characters are carrying active numenera or magic crystals.
  • Maneuver: Steam Burst. Once per encounter, the Ravager can emit a cloud of hot vapor. All creatures within immediate range must make a Speed defense roll or be blinded for one round and take 4 points of ambient heat damage.
  • Loot: The creature’s hide can be salvaged for 1d6 cyphers worth of reinforced plating.

Pathfinder (2nd Edition)

Unique Name: Scolopendra-Galeos 772

Creature 7 / N / Large / Beast / Amphibious

  • Perception: +15; Darkvision, Tremorsense 60 ft., Electrolocation 30 ft.
  • Skills: Athletics +18, Stealth +14, Acrobatics +14.
  • Str: +5, Dex: +3, Con: +6, Int: -4, Wis: +2, Cha: -3.

AC: 25; Fort: +18, Ref: +14, Will: +11. HP: 135; Immunities: Fear; Resistances: Physical 5 (except bludgeoning).

Speed: 40 feet, climb 40 feet, swim 30 feet. Melee [one-action]: Pincer +17 (Reach 10 ft.), Damage: 2d8+9 slashing plus Grab. Melee [one-action]: Bite +17, Damage: 2d12+9 piercing. Death Roll [one-action]: (Requirement: The creature has a target grappled). The 772 rolls with its prey. The target takes 3d8+9 bludgeoning damage and is knocked prone and remains restrained.

Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)

Unique Name: Sky-Scraper Scourge

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d10, Strength d12, Vigor d12. Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d10, Notice d8, Stealth d6. Pace: 8; Parry: 7; Toughness: 13 (4).

Special Abilities:

  • Armor +4: Heavy chitinous exoskeleton.
  • Bite/Pincers: Str+d8, AP 2.
  • Fearless: Immune to Fear tests and Intimidation.
  • Wall Walker: Can move on vertical or inverted surfaces at full Pace.
  • Size 2: The creature is approximately 14 feet long.
  • Resilient: Can take one Wound before being Incapacitated.
  • Vibration Sense: Ignores penalties for Illumination or Obscurement against moving targets within 10″.

Stat Block Summary: A high-toughness, relentless predator that excels in close-quarters urban ruins and ignores most morale-based defenses.

Shadowrun (6th Edition)

Unique Name: Chimeric Sprawl-Stalker (Scolopendra-Galeos 772)

Attributes:

  • BOD: 10
  • AGI: 6
  • REA: 6
  • STR: 9
  • WIL: 5
  • LOG: 1
  • INT: 6
  • CHA: 2
  • EDG: 3
  • ESS: 6

Derived Stats:

  • Initiative: 12 + 2D6
  • Defense Rating: 14 (Chitinous Plates)
  • Condition Monitor (P/S): 14 / 11
  • Armor: 4

Skills:

  • Athletics 6, Close Combat 7 (Pincers +2), Perception 6 (Scent +2), Stealth 5 (Urban +2).

Powers & Traits:

  • Natural Weaponry (Pincers/Bite): DV 4P, Attack Rating 12/10/—/—/—.
  • Armor: Reinforced chitin provides 4 points of hardened armor.
  • Movement: 10/20/+2.
  • Wall Running: The 772 can move across vertical or inverted surfaces at its standard walking speed.
  • Thermographic Vision: Inherited from its reptilian-like infrared heat sensing.

Starfinder (2nd Edition / Playtest)

Unique Name: Void-Breach Scourge (Scolopendra-Galeos 772)

Creature 8 / N / Large / Animal / Amphibious

  • Perception: +16; Low-Light Vision, Scent (30 ft.), Vibration Sense (60 ft.).
  • Skills: Athletics +19, Acrobatics +16, Stealth +16.
  • Str: +6, Dex: +4, Con: +5, Int: -4, Wis: +2, Cha: -2.

Defense:

  • AC: 26; Fort: +19, Ref: +16, Will: +12.
  • HP: 140.
  • Immunities: Fear.
  • Resistances: Physical 10 (except Force or Acid).

Offense:

  • Speed: 40 ft., Climb 40 ft., Swim 30 ft.
  • Melee [one-action]: Pincers +18 (Reach 10 ft.), Damage: 2d10+10 slashing plus Grab.
  • Melee [one-action]: Bite +18, Damage: 3d8+10 piercing.
  • Electrolocation [passive]: The creature ignores concealed and hidden conditions for targets with active cybernetics or powered gear within 30 ft.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Unique Name: Apex Chimerical Predator (Scolopendra-Galeos 772)

Characteristics:

  • STR: 14 (+2)
  • DEX: 10 (+1)
  • END: 15 (+3)
  • INT: 1 (-3)
  • INS: 12 (+2)
  • PAC: 4 (-2)

Stats:

  • Armor: 8 (Chitinous Hull)
  • Health: 45
  • Movement: 15m (Land), 10m (Swim)

Skills:

  • Athletics (Dexterity) 2, Melee (Unarmed) 3, Recon 2, Stealth 1, Survival 1.

Attacks:

  • Pincers (Melee): Damage 3D+4.
  • Bite (Melee): Damage 4D (Only against Grappled targets).

Traits:

  • Amphibious: Can operate underwater without penalty.
  • Fearless: Ignores Morale checks.
  • Wall-Crawler: Ignores difficult terrain while climbing vertical surfaces.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4th Edition)

Unique Name: The Ruin-Dwelling Beast (Scolopendra-Galeos 772)

Characteristics:

  • WS: 55
  • BS: —
  • S: 65
  • T: 70
  • I: 45
  • Agi: 40
  • Dex: 15
  • Int: 10
  • WP: 60
  • Fel: 05

Derived Stats:

  • Wounds: 32
  • Movement: 5 (10 Swim)
  • Armor: 3 (All locations)

Traits:

  • Amphibious: Breathe air and water.
  • Bite (Rating +10): Deals damage based on Strength + SB.
  • Fear (2): Encountering this creature requires a Cool test.
  • Skittish (Vibrations): Suffers a -10 penalty to WS when within 5 yards of loud, rhythmic machinery (like heavy steam engines).
  • Wall-Crawl: Can move freely on any solid surface regardless of incline.
  • Weapon (Pincers): +SB+4 damage.