Beetle, Beef Eater
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Climate/Terrain | Any (Temperate Woodlands and Grasslands) |
| Frequency | Uncommon |
| Organization | Solitary |
| Activity Cycle | Any |
| Diet | Carnivore (Scavenger) |
| Intelligence | Non- |
| Treasure | Nil |
| Alignment | Neutral |
| No. Appearing | 1-4 (rarely 2-20) |
| Armor Class | 4 |
| Movement | 12"//12" |
| Hit Dice | 1+4 |
| THAC0 | 18 |
| No. of Attacks | 1 |
| Damage/Attack | 2-8 |
| Special Attacks | Nil |
| Special Defenses | Nil |
| Magic Resistance | Nil |
| Size | S (2 ½ feet long) |
| Morale | Average |
| XP Value | 75 |
Description
The Beef Eater Beetle is a smallish "giant beetle," generally three feet long at most. Complementing the wild dog, they are natural scavengers. Found throughout the planet, the Beef Eater Beetle is particularly common in the eastern woodlands and on the central plains. Not picky at all, these insects will consume any dead or dying animal, whether a giant wasp carcass in the east or a bison slaughtered by lions on the plains.
Generally either bright red, black, or a mixture of these two colors, this tough beetles pack a surprising punch with their bite, doing 2-8 points of damage per bite. Usually not aggressive, they will vigorously defend any food source they find. They has resulted in some ugly fights between wild dogs and the beetles; while the beetles are able to wing and often take advantage of a corpse first, the wild dogs generally have the advantage of numbers, and can snap at and tease a Beef Eater Beetle.
Beef Eater Beetles are most commonly found following herds, but sometimes they prove a problem to people. When the herd is killed off, or giant beetle larvae are born into an area where there are no bison (and thus few food sources), they will seek to attack and generate their own protein sources. Sometimes towns are invaded by twenty or more of these creatures at one time, with some beetles attacking and others rooting through stored food and garbage for a meal. Some plagues are not welcomed, but are nevertheless a part of the often times hard life of the plains.