Beetle, Century Bore
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Climate/Terrain | Any non-arctic |
| Frequency | Rare |
| Organization | Swarm |
| Activity Cycle | Day |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Intelligence | Animal (1) |
| Treasure | Nil |
| Alignment | Neutral |
| No. of Appearing | 1-10 |
| Armor Class | 3 |
| Move | 3, Fl 18 (B), Br 3 |
| Hit Dice | 1 |
| THAC0 | 20 |
| No. of Attacks | 1 |
| Damage/Attack | 1d2 |
| Special Attacks | Slow |
| Special Defenses | Nil |
| Magic Resistance | Nil |
| Size | T (6 inches) |
| Morale | Steady (11-12) |
| XP Value | 65 |
Description
These are six inch long beetles, whose bite inflicts 1d2 points of damage and has the effects of a slow spell. A save versus spells will negate the slow effect.
Century bores burrow deep into the earth (about 100') then lay 100d10 eggs. After 100 years, the eggs hatch. The young dig to just under the surface, then grow feeding on detritous in the soil for a month as worm-like larvae. They then shed their skin and become beautiful beetles with a jewel-like carapace. The adults live only two weeks before they mate, burrow, and die.
The carapaces are worth 50 gold pieces if properly cared for (no mashing the beetle to kill it!). The flesh of the beetle if prepared by someone skilled in alchemy will halt aging for one year. The skin shed by the larva can be made into a potion of sleep.