T'chnnal
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Frequency | hopefully rare |
| # Appear | 1-2, 5-6 in a hunting group, 150+ colony |
| % In Lair | 100% (always one in the colony) |
| Treasure Type | see Note 1 |
| Alignment | varies, tendency towards Lawful |
| Climate/Terrain | extremely hot or extremely cold, uncomfortable in changing conditions (such as Louisiana weather). |
| HD | 1d8 per foot in size |
| Size | L (16'+ long, for adults) |
| AC | 2 (chiton and speed) |
| Magic Resistance | none |
| No. Attacks | 6 or 5 or 1 (6 legtip strikes or 4 legtip strikes/bite or wrap) |
| Legtip Damages | as spear (d6/d8) |
| Bite Damage | d2, Medium sized creature is swallowed |
| Acid Damage (Swallowed) | d10 per round |
| Wrap | none, until next round. save vs. Paralysis in order to avert it a round |
| Next Round (Rrrrrrip) | dead |
| Move | 18" on ground/climbing/ceiling, 12" gliding, 12" swimming |
| Special Defenses | none |
| Special Attacks | unaffected by heat or cold, though attacks of that sort DO do damage - but heat metal and bioling water won't really harm them. |
Description
I am including this one because I am occasionally possessed by the sadistic DM waiting within us all. This is for those players who irritate you.
The T'chnnal are an alien race (possibly from another Sphere if Spelljamming rules are being used). They resemble a huge, white-furred centipede with oddly arachnidal legs. The head has d20+20 eyes arrayed completely around the head (there is no 'rear'). They are extremely tough, capable of taking severe amounts of damage and still functioning, and also fast, moving in short, jerky blurs to human sight. They move across almost any surface but smooth steel as easily as across the ground, leaving small puncture holes where the legtips have grasped.
The race percieves slightly into the infra-red, giving them infravision out to 20', and their sense of hearing is incredible. Their vision is poor, however, and their normal daylight vision only goes to about a third that of a humans, except where large motions are concerned.
They are highly intelligent, about as intelligent as humans, but with a vastly different culture (I will eventually put all of that into the Net, but not this year). In essence, they come from a world of predation.
In most situations, a T'chnnal will fight with just its legtips, rising up on its hind legtips to perform a sort of fencing/spearing dance with its front side against whatever foes there are. Against multiple foes, of course, it is perfectly capable of doing precisely the opposite, or of only raising legs in portions of the body.
It will only swallow a foe if it believes the foe to be weak, and if there is only a few foes left. In a completely one on one situation, a T'chnnal will switch to a radically different strategy, however, attempting to wrap around its victim (a successful to hit does the job). The victim then gets a save vs. paralysis. If the save is successful, then the T'chnnal has not obtained the proper grip yet, and can not finish the action on the next round. In this case, the T'chnnal will most likely just strike with legtips while the victim is so ensnared, doing normal damage, but at +3 to hit. The victim, on the next round, will have to make the save again, and again, and again, at a cumulative penalty of -1 each round. If the victim fails the save, the T'chnnal has obtained a grip on the limbs, head, and torso regions of the character, and will then pry itself open, ripping the victim asunder in the process. The victim is then dead.
Note that while wrapped around a target, the T'chnnal cannot strike anything but the victim every time the victim makes her save unless the T'chnnal drops the victim.
The T'chnnal, for purposes of wrapping and ripping, has an effective Strength of 24. Armor has about as much effect as tin foil unless it is magical. For every +1 the armor has, the victim can add +1 to his save.
Notes
Note 1: The T'chnnal, as a colony, may have treasure worth pursueing, but in general what they possess is rope, weapons designed for their legtips, bits of armor shaped for their bodies, and many, many nets. The nature of their world has not allowed them the leisure to develop such things as money or luxuries, so in general there is little of worth.