Beetle, Logger's Bane
| 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 | 1-2 |
| Armor Class | 4 |
| Movement | 8"//10" |
| Hit Dice | 1 |
| THAC0 | 17 |
| No. of Attacks | 1 |
| Damage/Attack | 1-4 |
| Special Attacks | Poisonous bite |
| Special Defenses | Nil |
| Magic Resistance | Nil |
| Size | S (2 ½ to 3 feet long) |
| Morale | Average |
| XP Value | 75 |
Description
The Logger's Bane Beetle was one of the first of this planet's dangerous life forms encountered by explorers. These about three foot long brightly colored blue beetles are deadly poisonous, both in terms of eating them and in their bite (save versus poison or die; settlers do not eat them, but sometimes animals do their grave misfortune). Early settlers did not know what these creatures were, and consumed them with the rest of the abundant beetles of the woodlands. Logger's Bane Beetle deaths are generally quite rare now, since precautions have been in place for years. In much the way snake bites a problem in other worlds, settlers have had to adopt to this creature in a similar matter.
Logger's Bane Beetles generally ambush their prey, which is smaller insects. Humans occasionally step or blunder into one of these creatures (who despite their coloration are 60% invisible in natural terrain - or perhaps because of), who then bite in defense. These insects are not known to attack unprovoked.