Crab, Death Head
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Climate/Terrain | Ocean, shores, areas near water |
| Frequency | Very rare |
| Organization | Solitary |
| Activity Cycle | Day |
| Diet | Omnivore (none) |
| Intelligence | Non- |
| Treasure | Nil |
| Alignment | Neutral (Neutral evil) |
| No. Appearing | 1 or rarely 1-2 |
| Armor Class | 6 (2) |
| Movement | 7 (0 without crab) |
| Hit Dice | 1 (2) |
| THAC0 | 19 (no effective physical attack) |
| No. of Attacks | 2 (0) |
| Damage/Attack | Claw for 1-2./1-2 |
| Special Attacks | Gaze attack causes salt rot |
| Special Defenses | Nil (immune to certain spells) |
| Magic Resistance | Nil |
| Size | S |
| Morale | Average |
| XP Value | 250 |
Description
The Death Head Crab is yet another strange result of the world sea that once covered Thagril. Once a hermit crab - harmless soft-shelled crabs that use discarded mollusk shells as temporary homes till they outgrow - they are now a hazard in the seas and in areas near salt water. Found also far from the ocean, as long as there is some water about, the Death Head Crab has achieved its notoriety from the effects it receives from its "shell;" a skull.
With the lower jaw absent, the Death Head Crab uses the brain pan as the storage for its vulnerable areas, presenting to the world its stalked eyes, claws, and legs.
Normally, this strange arrangement might be a bit macabre, but otherwise harmless, as a skull is not intrinsically dangerous or evil. Thagril is not a normal place. Vast amounts of spirit energy was released when the oceans vanished, spirit energy derived from sea elves, whales, sharks, sea serpents, and many other aquatic life forms that perished suddenly, in the prime of their life.
Much of that energy is still about, found in the form of spirit whales, or perhaps animating salt drakes. The Death Head Crabs tap into this energy as well, much to the detriment of all concerned.
The crab is essentially a symbiotic lifeform, the crab living and the skull a lesser form of undead. Both benefit from the arrangement. The crab feeds on rather innocous stuff; lichen, sea weed, desert plants, leaves, insects, smaller crabs, fish, and carrion. In and of itself the crab is harmless, and actually a useful scavenger.
The skull portion is another matter. The skull is that of a sea elf invariably, and perhaps due to some influx of life force from the living crab, is undead. The skull portion seeks to destroy all developed life forms around the crab; mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. All those who gaze upon the skull portion of the Death Head Crab and are within 50 feet of it, must save versus petrifaction or undergo salt rot. A save negates this effect, and that person is immune from effect from that particular crab for that encounter. If he or she encounters the crab again in the future or a different crab, another saving throw must be made.
Salt rot is a parting gift of these twisted and otherwise unintelligent undead. The body is unable to process water from drinking or food sources, and requires more and more water in order to survive. By the end of the first day, 20% more water is needed to survive. On the second day, 30%, the third day, 40%, etc. By the fifth day, the person is pretty much going to die of thirst unless drinking constantly, and on day seven death occurs no matter what.
One of the great dangers of this salt rot is that a victim might not know they have been effected for a day or more. A presumably harmless encounter might several days down the road turn to disaster. Cure disease and remove curse will end salt rot.
This symbiosis is bizarre, the only known instance of undead and living working together. The crab gains a very safe home, and the undead sea elf spirit has a way of affecting the maximum number of victims, its hatred for surface dwellers continuing into the afterlife.
The stats above are for the skull. One can kill the crab but not the skull, and vice versa. As with all undead, it is immune to charm, sleep, and other mind affecting spells, and takes half damage from cold and electrical attacks as well as sharp or edged weapons. Blunt weapons and fire do full damage.