Crab, Blood
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Climate/Terrain | Any |
| Frequency | Common (Rare) |
| Organization | Solitary (Swarm) |
| Activity Cycle | Any |
| Diet | Omnivore, Scavenger (Carnivore) |
| Intelligence | Animal |
| Treasure | Nil; incidental |
| Alignment | Neutral |
| No. Appearing | 1-6 (20-200) |
| Armor Class | 4 (2) |
| Movement | 14 (16) |
| Hit Dice | 1 (3) |
| THAC0 | 19 (16) |
| No. of Attacks | 2 |
| Damage/Attack | 1-2/1-2 (1-4/1-4) |
| Special Attacks | Nil |
| Special Defenses | Nil |
| Magic Resistance | Nil |
| Size | S; 3 feet (M; 4-5 feet) |
| Morale | Unsteady (Champion) |
| XP Value | 45 (175) |
Description
The Blood Crabs first appeared on land with the sudden dramatic drop in sea levels ten years ago. Always there, they were a normal, stable part of the marine ecosystem, existing on the sea floor and on continental shelves feeding on dead organisms, detritus, and the like. When the sea levels feel though, the crabs were stranded along with so much other sea life. The Blood Crabs were able to survive, and lacking their natural predators thrived on land. Thousands of miles of stranded sea life provide a vast cornucopia of food to eat, food that would take years to consume. Tough scavengers, they are even able to draw nourishment from rotting flesh, desiccated mummies in the desert, and in some case bleached bone.
Not very common at first, they have multiplied tremendously in the last few years in huge numbers in what are termed "infestations." A few Blood Crabs will move into an area, and if it has decent food resources, start to feed and have offspring. The number starts to grow exponentially, and in the space of a year two crabs can become twenty then eighty then much more. They are fairly non offensive at first, feeding on carrion, offal, etc, but as food becomes scarcer they become more predatory.
At this stage the crabs, which until this time are generally harmless, undergo a molt. Exchanging their typical exoskeleton of muted brown and white for a brilliant scarlet red. The new form has much more damaging, bigger, serrated claws, and is larger as well. At this point Blood Crab numbers are generally pretty high, and it the proper time to call it an infestation. (Above the statistics in parenthesizes are the ones referring to the Blood Crab predatory stage).
Any life form that can't fly or run away is eaten voraciously by the crabs, swarming over them like ants. Humans and demihumans are not immune, and this is a source of major concern in the new drylands. Locals generally try to watch and kill the pre Blood Crab stage before their numbers get too large, but this is difficult given this stage's drab coloration and inoffensive nature, more properly scavenger than predator.
The Blood Crab is probably more of a case of a natural animal taking advantage of a new environment in which to live and a lack of predators, but it is yet one more indication the lasting problems that face this world.